Sweet dreams
by emaone
Summary: Stefan decides to propose to Elena but doesn't know the cost of their non-blessed marriage. Meanwhile, a rather aggravated Damon tries to conceal one of his deepest secrets but finds it slowly coming out. A story about brotherhood, love and sacrifice.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

I laid there in my creamy, silk night gown like a fragile porcelain doll that could easily be broken with one touch and harmed with another. I was vulnerable like a little lost child. I hated feeling vulnerable. They gave you a sensation of feeling weak like a useless princess sitting in her tower praying for Mr. Greasy to come. Weak was not my thing. I hated to be soft but that moment, I felt soft. I felt my body lying on a carpet of clouds and surrounded by nothing but fairy dusk. There was a scent. A fragrant, like wolf perfume.

I could feel my smooth, silky blond hair caress my shoulders and the soft snow dust kiss me. I was in heaven. Right at that moment, I knew there was no better place in the universe to be at but that place. My heart quivered when I felt the smoothness of _his_ lips brush my milky-white skin. The touch of his bloody hands on my stomach awoke the goose bumps. His touch protected me like my personal knight and shining armour. He nibbled at my neck like humble puppy that eventually grew hungry and began devouring me with his kisses.

He kissed me like a breathless man and I was his oxygen. His hands travelled up my back and I found myself completely lost in his spell. The temptation was too hard to resist and I found myself turning over to kiss him simultaneously gripping his hair as though for support. It wasn't as though he could feel pain. Pain, was not a word to him.

But it definitely did mean something to me.

All of a sudden, I felt the sharpness of a razor cut through my spinal cord. Adrenaline gushed through my veins and I winced. No matter how piercing the pain was, I didn't let go off him. It was like the more painful it got, the more I gripped, scratched and bit him, in a way, transferring the pain to him.

I moaned when another sensation of aguish snapped inside of me. My nails dug into his back and I pressed my body closer. This time however, he fought to pull away.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and watched as he rolled over to sit up. His muscles hypnotized me and I watched as he slowly scratched the back of his head.

"What's wrong?" I murmured, still dazed.

"Elena, you're bleeding."He turned to face me and I saw his eyes darken like a ghost's. The veins beneath them erupted to form broken cement-like surfaces. They intimidated me for a while as I watched his eyes linger towards my neck. After a while, he forced his head away and stood up.

It wasn't until a second later when the pain inside me snapped, this time, putting my body in agony.

I let out a blood curdling yell and out of the blue, heard cries.

They weren't ordinary cries. They were the cries of a baby.

My chest heaved, I was breathing heavily. The pain was endless and the cries got louder and louder. I searched the room for him but I couldn't see him. I couldn't see a single soul. That was when I realized this wasn't heaven anymore. I didn't know that _perfect stranger_ and there was a baby coming out from me. Whose baby was it? It wasn't mine. Help_. Help_. It was futile.

The cries got louder and louder. Tears poured out of my eyes when the clouds beneath me grew red. Blood red_. Fresh_, blood red. I could smell it. I was starving. The baby. The _baby _looked so appetizing.

I felt my fangs burry themselves into my tongue. I needed blood. I….

Then I saw him. I saw _the man_.

The pain ceased almost immediately like he was my remedy. Tears of joy poured down my cheeks and I held the baby in my arm. It was our baby wasn't it? He and I. It was _our _baby. Fleetingly, I made my way towards him like the happiest woman on the planet. He stood idle with his back my way.

"Look."I was breathless and slowly tapped his shoulder but before I could he disappeared.

The surroundings grew darker and from heaven, I was surrounded by a jungle of dying trees and fog.

The stench was unbearable and the baby began crying in my arms again. I was scared. _Alone. Petrified._

The sound of evil laughter crazed my ears and I felt frightened. The baby didn't stop crying and I was more than horrified. Where was I? Whose child was this? How….

Then, that same deep, menacing voice hissed in my ears.

"Sweet Dreams Elena…."

Then I was left all alone…with that child, in what felt more than just a dream.

--------------------

Tralala……okay so I decided to start my fan fiction after like…ages of contemplating(:

Hope you like it. I won't tell you who 'he' is just yet. And, you're just going to have to see if I'm a Stefan or Damon fan [: Although truthfully, it does get pretty obvious. R&R much appreciated :D


	2. The Jeweler's

My eyes popped open and I felt air getting caught in my chest. My fingers crumpled the clean, white bed sheets and I slowly let my muscles relax.

Just a dream_. Just a dream_ Elena.

Inside, I was screaming but outside, I was trying to assure myself that it was just a dream.

After all, it was…wasn't it?

The bright chandelier above me was gleaming. Light, I thought. Something I had missed in the dream. Being a vampire has given me the super powers of a sharp vision. I could see every detail of those tiny million pieces of crystal. They shone so bright in my eye and released an outburst of the seven spectrum colours plus, an eight colour I couldn't fathom.

_Just a dream,_ Elena.I told myself again and turned to rest on an arm.

But_ it _was still bothering me.

--------------

"I never thought you were a fan of jewelry."

Stefan did not avert his glance from the beautiful sapphire necklace he was admiring to look at the person. Even without looking, he could sense his older brother's presence. It was like Damon emanated a dark aura whenever he came around.

"Well, I guess we spent too much of our time fighting than getting to know each other."Stefan glanced up at his scruffy looking older brother then returned the necklace to where he first found it.

With both arms crossed over his chest, Damon followed his younger brother.

"Or maybe you just spent too much time trying to be…"Damon cleared his throat and tilted his head. "_human_." He concluded in a sarcastic manner. Ignoring him, Stefan picked up another Diamond necklace and began to admire it. The stones in this one were carved neatly and almost gently to provide every bit of detail. He loved it.

"Don't tell me the reason you called for me was to help you pick out fancy jewelry for yourself, Stefan." Damon picked up a few ruby necklaces and turned to look at Stefan who, as always, seemed to not possess any traits of humour. His face was stoned and serious but Damon knew that his little brother was far too sensitive and full of emotion to even look emotionless. The corner of Damon's mouth broke into an awry smile when he saw the beautiful, Amazonian girl walk through the front door.

"If so…"Stefan began and snapped his older brother out of his world. "I'm surprised you'd travel from a different continent at my request." He paused to pull the front doors open before stepping out. "Where were you again?  
"Europe." Damon spoke. "Genova, to be precise."He slipped his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and followed as Stefan approached the light woods across the road. "Visited some of our relatives. Aunt Meryl wanted to know how you were doing."

"Oh really?" Stefan continued walking, at the same time, pushing the protruding branches away.

"Yeah."Damon's voice echoed in the forest and at every word, birds flew off the branches and tiny animal scurried into their underground. He chuckled. Watching the living run, intimidated by his powers was pleasing. It gave him an ego boost even when he didn't even need one. "I told her you were being a good boy by graduating for your two thousandth…something something time." He laughed and leaned against a wooden tree. "And how well you were progressing with blending in with the humans." Damon licked his lips when he smelled blood and felt his fangs cut his lips. "Particularly your stupid tofu diet."

"You never will get over the fact that I won't kill for human blood now won't you Damon?"

"Wrong."Damon stomped his foot onto the ground and slowly looked at the trapped rabbit beneath his foot. It's was struggling to run free but the weight of his shoe on its back made it impossible.

"I'll never get over the fact that my baby brother's humanity made him lose his sanity."He sighed, still not letting go of the rabbit. "Sometimes, it's such a big embarrassment."

Stefan ignored him and looked at the rabbit in sympathy. It was food and it was greatly abnormal for a person to stare at its meal in sympathy. Perhaps Damon was right…his humanity…

"I know I'm right, little brother."Damon broke into a crooked smile and narrowed his eyes at Stefan who uncomfortably scratched the back of his head. "Oh, I just realised." Damon continued and bent down to pick the rabbit up by its ears. "I didn't get you a present from Italy."He shrugged and shook his head. "Such a sad excuse for an older brother, don't you think?"

Stefan's mind wasn't focussed anymore. In fact, his whole body felt confused. His mind was trying hard to look for a way to break the news to Damon but another half of it was thirsty and craving that rabbit in Damon's hand. Stefan felt the back of his eyes grow hot as the veins beneath the rabbit's cotton while skin grew more and more prominent until he could hear the sound of its heart beat hammering in his ears.

"Well, here's your present then."Damon motioned the rabbit. "Nothing beats a fresh, bloody rabbit, now right?"He chuckled as though enjoying Stefan's determined attempt to overcome his temptation. "Oh come on baby brother."Damon exclaimed and approached him. "Does this creature, by any chance, look like a human to you?" He didn't wait for Stefan to answer. "No! So stop being altruistic and for once in your lifetime, accept a gift from your older brother."

Stefan's eyes grew darker and darker until all he could see was blood, arteries and veins. All he could hear was its pulse. All he could smell...was its blood. All he could breathe....

"Wait!"He yelled, loud enough to make the forest shake.

Damon raised an eyebrow.

"I ...I need to do what I've came here to do."

"No wonder girls like you."Damon shrugged and clicked his tongue. "You'll keep them waiting."

"Damon, I'm serious."

"Me too."He watched Stefan kick the pile of dried leaves on the ground and slowly placed both his hands on his hips. Damon took a glimpse of the interior of his jacket and was not surprised when he didn't see any sharp, dangerous objects but a single pair of Italian sunglasses.

Time flew by and Damon began whistling.

"Rabbit won't stay fresh for long."

But Stefan hardly heard him. He looked up, took a deep breath and blurted it all out.

"Damon, I'm asking Elena to marry me."

Instantaneously, the rabbit fell lose from his hands and Stefan watched as Damon's amuse face grew more and more serious.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the reviews

Okay :D Hope you guys like it (:

R&R much appreciated!

PS: Sorry for the confusion in the prologue [:


	3. The Book of Edicts

I wake up and _he's_ gone.

So that leaves me all alone in the boarding house with a single diary. Everywhere I look it's like the house has been ransacked by thieves but that would be impossible because a] Stefan would never let that happen and b] the sight of the boarding house was more prone to getting someone diagnosed with conjunctivitis than attract them. Yet, after living in this place for nearly a year and a half, I'm still not used to it. It's hardly home actually. Most of the time, Stefan and I are out hunting or we'll camp under the stars and simply enjoy life. The real life – what's really out there!, in Stefan's words. But the thought of the wilderness and immortality still scares me sometimes. Once a fortnight, I'd watch Aunt Judith and the family grow.

It's like I'm watching a movie where the characters live their lives and I'm just a spectator. If they live, I'll watch. If they die, I'll just watch.

I know. Who wishes for death? But at this point, I do, because I'm not sure if I can keep living and living on for thousands of years like Stefan. Where are we heading any way? Can this irrevocable love last as long as I thought it could?

I'm afraid of the future. I'm afraid of what's out there. I'm just not ready yet.

-----------------

Stefan slipped his pale hands into the pockets of his blue jeans and walked down the prosaic, grey paths of Mystic Falls. The chill bit him and after starving himself for nearly three days now, he felt his body shiver not from the cold but from the overwhelming temptation in him. He needed to feed. He needed to feed _now._ A few minutes ago, that rabbit in Damon's hand would have been like water in an oasis. _Delightful_.

Stefan's head shot up when he swore he something ruffle through the old willow tree. He narrowed his eyes towards it and could have sworn he saw something black. Something like a **crow**.

_Damon. _

That was the first thing that struck his mind. He waited for a while for an incoming din but eerie silence simply surrounded him. However the thought of Damon didn't fade away easily. He was paranoid now and Damon's earlier words echoed in his ears like disturbing, unrest souls.

"What?"Damon's mouth had been sharp and his lips, thin when he spoke after Stefan's announcement. The rabbit in his hand had immediately scurried away to save its life but whatever Damon did made it freeze then writhe in pain before eventually dying. Stefan had watched Damon's iris turn into nothing but dark voids which dilated as every minute went by.

"I said."Stefan had continued. "I'm going to ask Elena to marry me."

"I heard what you said. I'm not that deft."Damon had sneered as he rested a palm on one of the nearby trees.

"Okay."

"Are you out of your mind?" Damon had neither shouted nor yelled but remained calm. His voice was steady but the aura he emanated was fiery enough to roast a chicken. Stefan sensed the amount of anger in him but Damon was doing nothing to pour it out neither was he doing anything to conceal it.

"Are you seriously sane now?"Damon had crossed his arms across his chest and licked his lips. "Are you hearing yourself Stefan?"

"I've thought about everything and…."

"Everything?"Damon had interjected and approached his younger brother. "Frankly Stefan, I think after graduating for more than two thousand times would have made you an Einstein but…"

"Quit with the games Damon."

"…looks like I'm wrong."Damon had ignored Stefan's remark and slowly narrowed his eyes at him like a snake hypnotizing its prey before coiling it to death. He flashed his pointed teeth at his younger brother then receded. "Oh wait, that's right. You've spent your time studying about humans and their history than you've forgot the history of your own, real kind."

"Damon…."

"Tell me Stefan." Damon had turned his body swiftly and stared into Stefan's hungry eyes. "How many volumes of the book of edicts have you read?"

"Damon I know where this is heading too…"

"Good." He spat and shoved Stefan's right shoulder, an attempt to knock the sense out of him. "Because if you clearly remember there is a certain rule-"

"Where vampires can't fall in love with their own made vampires." Stefan had shrugged then sighed.

"You made Elena."

"I know Damon."

"Do you….understand it?"Damon had spoken sarcastically and raised an eyebrow only to have Stefan shoot him a glare. "I mean, I know the book's written in Italian but don't tell me you've been learning English for centuries that you've forgotten your own language!"He seemed amused by his own sentence and began chuckling. "_Ciao_ Stefan."

"This isn't fun and games any more Damon."Stefan had sneered and instantly, Damon's face grew more and more serious like an aggravated person. His eyes had grown narrower like how it always would whenever _Damon Salvatore_ got irritated.

"You're right."He had snickered and before Stefan was even able to blink, he found himself being slammed against the hard, wooden oak tree. His bones had felt weak and the power inside of him had felt nothing stronger than a glowing candle trying to rekindle. Damon had him gripped by his collar with his teeth flashing, ready to bite.

"Feed on me. Go ahead."Stefan hissed but Damon tossed him a look of disgust.

"You? A meagre lunatic?!" There was no intonation of humour but mockery in his remark. "Oh please Stefan, I'd rather eat the rabbit." Damon spat the accumulated saliva in his mouth and glared into his brother's piercing green eyes. "But if you go against the rule you bring Elena down with you."  
"That's what they always say." With all his might Stefan pushed Damon's grip off of him and found himself in an eye-to-eye war with his older brother.

"What they _always_ say is _always _true."

"Yeah. How come there was not sound and havoc when I fell in love and revealed our world to Elena?"Stefan had snapped. "Volume IV, rule twenty four regarding Vampires falling in love with those not of their kind."

"Why do you think I left for Italy every month?"Damon had snickered and Stefan slowly felt his muscles relax. "Going on vacation?"

"Wait you..."

"You caused a great deal of mess back home and I had to fix it since you were too blind and lovesick to even see the world around you."Damon paused and tilted his head. "Let alone, our world."

"There was a fight? Why didn't you tell me about the battle?!"

Damon had snorted and began to randomly pluck the dried, crisped leaves from the tree. "And share my heroic attention with you-?"He had laughed. "I don't think so.

"So why do you care now?"Stefan had snickered. "After all."He continued. "The consequences are prosecution."Stefan had slowly inched towards his older brother and hissed. "I thought you'd be more than happy to watch me leave."

"Do you hear yourself?"Damon had been in rage and he had immediately swung his hands into the air to pin his little brother to the oak tree. "I will not let you put Elena in such risks. I will not let you have high hopes of fighting the battle alone just to save yourself from this thing."

"Then fight with me."Stefan's eyes had grown red as he flashed his fangs.

"I don't think so." Damon had hauled his brother to the ground and took a deep breath when he felt the tips of his nose grow cold from the chill. "I won't let you risks Elena's life even if she agrees."

He curled his lips and slowly squatted beside Stefan who laid still on the ground.

"Your ridiculous lifestyle and atrocious record of rule breaking weakens our realm everyday you know that?"Damon had sneered and Stefan shad lowly began to sit up. "This is an advantage to the Powers because they know we're slowly getting blinded by these fragile humans and giving our life away for them."Damon had knocked the back of Stefan's head and glowered at him. "I will not let our empire die because of your stupid irresponsible acts."

He had gotten up to leave by then but paused when Stefan spoke.

"Damon. This is all about Elena isn't it? What really matters?" He had pulled himself up and looked at his idle brother who had his back at him. "You can't fool me. As much as fighting the Powers mean to you don't deny you have a heart for Elena. "He then approached his brother from the back and paused to whisper into Damon's ears. "I love her more than you do to put her in jeopardy."

Then he walked off, leaving Damon standing there alone.

Stefan sighed as he reminisced the times.

He stood up to continue walking but paused when he heard a crow. His head snapped into the direction of the sound and he noticed _it._

_It,_ the **crow** was there. Watching him under a microscope like he was something to eat.

Stefan continued to stare at it before _it_ eventually flew off.

The minute Stefan got home Elena was there sitting by the window sill in her beautiful night gown. The wind from outside blew her hair back making her look like a weightless angel in the air. She slowly turned when she heard the door open and tossed him a sincere smile. Elena mouthed him a greeting and broke into a beam when Stefan planted a kiss on her cheek.

"I missed you." Elena whispered and she felt her heart jump when Stefan casted her one of those smiles that would have easily made girls like Caroline go berserk.

"Elena." His voice was like a lullaby which made her feel safe and loved for, just like a baby.

Elena watched Stefan gracefully kneel onto the floor before pulling an antique velvet box out.

"Will you marry me?"

-----------------------------

Thanks so much for the reviews :D

Hope you like it (:

R&R much appreciated.


	4. The Best Man

"You said yes right?"Bonnie's small, fragile voice on the other line was filled with excitement that Elena could imagine her fiery red hair and pink face.

"Yes."

"Wait, repeat that again."Meredith spoke on the other line and Elena broke into a broad beam.

"Yes!"She exclaimed and both girls broke into loud shrieks and squeals.

"I can't believe you're getting married Elena!"Bonnie exclaimed and Elena swirled her dressing chair to look into the dressing mirror. She fixed her tousled bed hair and smiled to herself when she saw him in the mirror.

Stefan was watching her as he leaned against the door frame with both arms crossed over his chest. His sparkling teal green eyes were shining as though overwhelmed with contentment. Stefan's crooked smile grew broader when he heard his fiancée's best friends squeal on the phone. To him, it was amusing but he was glad to see how excited Elena was.

"So when is it?"

"Oh Stefan and I wanted a small, private one. We're having it this weekend." All her life, Elena had dreamed of big, fancy Cinderella weddings in the backyard but she guessed, as people grew older, they tend to change and surprisingly, she was okay with Stefan's idea of a small, secluded wedding. In his words 'weddings bring greater meanings when they aren't bought'. Whatever that meant.

"Good. The earlier the better right?" Bonnie suggested and everyone agreed.

"Okay Elena. Just remember, getting married isn't all about the fun. You've got to learn to always be by each other's side and….."

"Oh for once Meredith!"Bonnie laughed. It was very like Meredith to be so methodical at times.

Elena grinned. She sensed the happiness in her friends' voice and that was enough to make her happy.

"We are going to be the hottest bridesmaid ever!" Bonnie's small voice spoke.

"Of course."Meredith agreed and Elena could imagine her piercing blue eyes as she spoke into the phone. "Oh and every bridesmaid has to have their man." Her voice wasn't as tiny or vulnerable like Bonnie but rather motherly and in a way, raucous. "Hey, Elena. You wouldn't mind if I brought Alaric right?"

But Elena wasn't listening. She was too busy staring at Stefan as he slipped into his slim cut, Armani blazer. The way he dressed was almost too graceful for Elena's eyes. After slipping into the jacket, Elena watched him put on his Italian shoes, then fix his silver watch before finally, slipping those sunglasses on. It was almost illegal to gawk at her own fiancé but she couldn't help it. He was simply a God.

"Elena?"

"Yeah…of course."She muttered dreamingly and beamed when their eyes met.

"What about you Bonnie?"Meredith was asking. There was a short pause before she spoke again. "Wait! Elena, Damon's going to be there right? As the best man, obviously."

"Oh yeah. Forgot all about that."Elena admitted. "Hold on, let me ask Stefan."

Stefan buckled his belt on and slowly bent down to make sure his hair was in place. "No, he won't be there." He began after listening to their conversation. It wasn't his fault. Their excitement was too strong to be blocked out of his mind.

"What?" Stefan found it surprising that Elena was surprised. "What do you mean Stefan, he's your brother?"

"We're not the best brothers in the world Elena."Stefan admitted and leaned down to plant a kiss on her cheek. "Besides, if an invitation isn't enough to convince him, I'm not going to start groveling just to have my older brother at my own wedding."

Elena clutched the phone to her ear and watched as Stefan rummaged through the drawers to look for his car keys.

"I'm going to the library for a while. I'll see you later." Stefan planted a soft kiss on her lips, then her forehead. "Bye."

Elena watched as he slowly disappeared behind the door then peered to look into the mirror again.

"Stefan's gone?"Meredith asked and Elena nodded, not realizing that Meredith couldn't see her.

"Are you thinking what we think you're thinking?"Bonnie sounded and Elena bit her lip.

"What am I supposed to be thinking?"Elena asked.

"That you've got some Salvatore ass to kick and he isn't Stefan."Meredith chirped in.

Elena beamed and stood up to get dressed. "You guys know me to well."

Looking for Damon wasn't as hard as Elena expected. In fact, it was almost like he wasn't making an effort to hide and was hoping someone or something would find him. Dressed in a pair of blue jeans and white camisole, Elena made her way through the forest and down to the river bank where the older Salvatore brother stood with his back facing her. He was leaning against the old, maple tree watching the river flow. Like Stefan, he was dressed in black but unlike Stefan, Damon never wore any other colours.

Damon had a hand placed on his left hip so that his jacket stood out and not cling to his muscular, lean body. His spiked up hair would once in a while, blow with the wind as though letting his gentler side escape. He didn't move but Elena knew he sensed her presence.

"Elena."His voice was deep and mysterious. "Morning." Damon slowly turned and Elena noticed how creamy rich his skin was. Obviously, he had just fed.

"So um, Stefan told you about our wedding?"Elena asked.

"Oh yeah."Damon clicked his tongue. "Congratulations."

"If only that enthusiasm was real."Elena sighed and crossed her arms across her chest. "Sadly, it's only sarcasm right?"

"Smart girl." He nodded, impressed.

"Damon, why can't you just accept the fact that your brother and I are in love?"

"What do you want now? My blessing?"Damon raised an eyebrow and Elena groaned.

"Damon. It's your brother's wedding. I know it would mean the world to Stefan if you could be there as his best man." Elena shivered from the sudden breeze and rubbed her arms.

"Perhaps, you don't know my brother well."Damon suggested and looked down at his watch. "We live with the 'if you stay away I'll stay away motto." Damon paused and rubbed the stubble on his chin. "There are lots about the Salvatore brother's you need to find out Elena."He looked up at her and Elena noticed the beauty of his cheekbones. "Considering you're part of the family now aren't you?"

Damon took a few strides down the river bank and Elena followed him.

"Yeah and every time I think about it, I think of the possible giant mess I'm getting myself in."

Damon bent down to pick up a few pebbles and threw them into the water. He watched them skip and leap like flying fishes before slowly disappearing into the glistening water. Elena stared too and couldn't help but notice how much it reminded her of Damon. He was like the fleeting stone that always had the energy and power to sprint everywhere but eventually he would die out and simply sink to the bottom.

"Mess?"Damon raised an eyebrow out and tossed another stone.

"You know."Elena shrugged. "Family of secrets… Italian ancestry. Secretive brotherhood." She turned to Damon and spoke sarcastically. "Demanding and stubborn _brother-in-law_."

For the first time in a long time, Elena saw the corner of Damon's mouth break into a smile when he chuckled. He handed Elena a stone and the both of them threw it at the same time. Elena watched Damon's go twice the length hers was able to.

"Come on."She tried again and crossed her arms. "What have you got to lose by coming to your own brother's wedding?"

"That's easy." Damon stepped away from the river and sprinted towards the nearest oak tree. In a blink of an eye, he was there. "My dignity." It sounded more like a warning than a remark.

"You know what I would want for my wedding present?"Elena challenged and Damon narrowed his eyes at her. "I want a piece of your ego."

"Nice, Elena."He spoke with that raucous voice and leaned against the oak tree.

"Admit Damon. You're not as evil as everyone thinks you are." She gripped one of the branches above him and climbed it.

"Correct."He looked up with the mischievous look of an eleven year old boy. "I'm worse."

Elena rolled her eyes and plucked a rare purple flower from the tree.

"I don't get it Damon."She sat up and looked at the beautiful flower. "It's normal for people to want to emanate a good impression or good profile of themselves but you seem to think vice versa."

"Because, dear sister-in-law to be."He snickered and Elena felt the chills when he muttered the words 'sister-in-law to be'. It was almost impossible to believe that she was, indeed, going to be a Salvatore woman. "That's what normal_ humans_ do."

"Are you saying you aren't normal?"

"Did I say I was human either?"

"_Inhumane _sounds more like it." She suggested and Damon seemed pleased with the nickname.

"What are you? Challenging me Elena?" He made her sound like a young girl getting mocked and teased by an older teen. She hated it.

"You know, I'm not afraid of you Damon." She spoke and hoped off the tree.

"So I've been told."He turned to face her and broke into an awry smile.

Grinning, Elena wiped her dusty hands against her jeans and paused when she noticed her chalk-white hands.

"Somebody's hungry."Damon commented, amused at the fact that his future sister-in-law was just as stubborn and insane as his own Tofu brother.

"Whatever but Damon, please come."Elena found herself begging and Stefan was right, groveling to Damon was embarrassing.

"What's in it for me?"

"A once in a life time experience of seeing your brother get married."

Damon shrugged and curled his lips. "I'll think about it."

"It's good enough." Elena thought. After all, it was better than the '_No_' Stefan received. "Anyway, I'm off to feed."

"I'll come with you."

Elena paused and raised an eyebrow. _**That,**_ was unexpected.

"I know lots of girls downtown who are…."

Obviously, that was his intention. Elena pulled a face of disgust and Damon broke into an evil, amused chuckle.

"Kidding."He licked his lips and motioned the forest. "Let's go get your Tofu breakfast."

Elena took his hand when he offered it but immediately let go when she saw a flash of white light.

Damon's face was suddenly a blur and the face of a familiar figure appeared.

"What?"

Elena blinked only to find herself staring at a confused looking Damon.

"Nothing." She mumbled and he disappeared into the forest. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and followed after him.

Stefan pulled out the final Volume of the Book of edicts from the book shelf and opened a specific page. He scrolled down until he found the 'consequences' section and began reading.

It was worse than he thought, and Elena didn't know a single thing.

----------------------

Thanks so much for the reviews, story favs and story alerts (:

Hope you like it!

R&R much appreciated: D

**Spoiler alert! **

PS: In my story, Bonnie never kissed Damon (yeah, I know that happened in NightFall but ew xD)

So there's no Bonnie/Damon history. They're…normal :D


	5. The Tactless Truth

"Stefan I'm telling you don't risk it."

Elena paused when she heard Damon's sharp voice in the room next door. Stealthily, she peered into the room only to see both Damon and Stefan in a cogent argument. Damon's head swiftly turned towards the door and she immediately crept into the darkness. Elena knew he could sense her presence but he wasn't doing anything about it. Instead, he turned to look at Stefan while she continued to listen.

"Are you actually trying to protect me?"She heard Stefan challenge him.

"I'm trying to protect Elena."Damon hissed between his teeth. "You could die for all I care."

"Exactly." Stefan pointed out and Elena saw a completely baffled Damon nod in confusion. "Except you do care!"Stefan went on. "You'd go to Italy without my knowledge to deal with a mess I made."

"I love the heroic attention."Damon spoke slyly and clicked his tongue. "I told you."

"You lied."Stefan narrowed his sharp eyes at Damon who stood leaning against the fragile, broken window. "You're coming to my wedding after Elena asked you. Don't you think that costs you a little of your sensitivity?"He didn't let Damon interject him and quickly went on "Considering you hardly have any left."

"Miss a one in a lifetime chance to see my baby brother exchange vows with the whole I love you, I love you _la la_ ceremony only to be seen dead the next day? Never."He paused and snapped his fingers. "Such a bittersweet ending don't you think?" The corner of his mouth broke into a mischievous smile that reached up to his eyes. Elena didn't understand. Dead?

Stefan shook his head and slowly bent down to pick his jacket up. "No."His gaze followed Damon who began walking around the room simultaneously picking anything interesting up to browse. "You throw me some of the post pathetic excuses but in the end, it just leads to one thing."

"Oh really?"Damon chuckled and returned the photo frame of Stefan and Elena to where he first found it. "And what is that?"

"You want something. You _seek_ something that no one's willing to give you."Stefan approached his older brother and looked directly into his dark, malign eyes. "And you won't rest till you get _it_."

Both brothers were eye to eye and nothing but awkward silence beleaguered them that moment. Elena felt the goose bumps slowly emerge on my skin like mushrooms after rain. The tension in the room didn't last very long when Damon started chuckling as though something humoured him. Stefan continued to stare at his amused older brother who looked like a laughing child who did not understand the word 'danger'. It was natural for children to seem carefree and ignorant when it came to understanding serious things because....they never understood anything. This fact only made Damon seem like a retard.

"Bravo, baby brother."Damon clapped his hands and tossed his brother an impressed nod. "Such a heart-felt speech. Brilliant!" He took a deep breath, exhaled and smiled. "What were you trying to do exactly?"Damon narrowed his eyes. "Pull the sensitivity out of me with some of your psychological tricks?"

"And you want _Elena_." Stefan sneered and watched Damon's humoured expression slowly fade away. "You feel for her."

"Excuse me?"

Stefan ignored him and went on. "You don't want her away from you."He snickered. "Her absence makes you_ weak_." He sensed Damon chuckling but this time, the chuckle sounded more forced than all of his previous chuckles. It was then, when Stefan knew he had reached Damon's weak point and all Damon could try and do to save his ego, or in his words '_dignity_', was to put up an act. An act of ignorance which, after nearly two hundred years, could not fool Stefan any longer.

"Admit it Damon." He challenged and looked directly into his brother's immortal eyes. "Why do you keep crawling back to us? To Elena? Why can't you just live alone with your own life and not interfere with ours?"Stefan's words were sharp and wounding but Damon showed no sign of defeat. "Easy."Stefan answered his own rhetorical question. "_Because you're alone_."

"You've always been alone ever since Katherine's death and you have never, ever since then, let anyone into your life because you were _heartbroken_. I get it."

Elena waited for Damon to make a move but he didn't and it was starting to frighten her. He was either really hurt by Stefan's tactless truth or was recharging to pounce on Stefan once the 'speech' was over.

"But it has been nearly two hundred years Damon. You fight to let your anger out. You hate me because I'm moving on and the more you abhor me, the more we fight and the more you grow closer to me." He paused and watched Damon smile for no apparent reason. "And you enjoy it not because of the satisfaction you get through torturing people. But because you know you won't be alone and forgotten." Pause. "_Damon Salavatore_."Stefan spoke sarcastically. "Everyone knows that infamous name."

Damon's silence was sending the shivers down my spine.

"Then Elena comes into the picture."Stefan sneered and stared at his brother's unmoved face. "And she reminds you so much of Katherine that it kills you."He paused. "And you're falling for her but that hurts even more because you have never loved anyone anymore after Katherine's death."Stefan looked into Damon's pitched black eyes. "_Elena_ is the only reason you have a speck of humanity left inside of you."

Stefan retreated and crossed both his arms across his chest. "So tell me Damon." He went on. "What's the real reason here? You've cleaned up all the old messes I made and all the rules I broke. Why not let this one? After all, there's no such thing has big rules and smaller rules in our real."He pursed his lips. "I'm sure you're of that. After all, you have been spending your life graduating our world several times, aren't I right?"Stefan raised an eyebrow but Damon's face did not change. He merely stared at Stefan with malevolence and in any minute, Elena knew that that patience in him was going to run out.

"Is it because you don't want to see me happy? Or Elena happy? Or Elena officially mine?"He paused. "Or are you afraid to admit that you've lost this game you've put the both of us in. You took the wrong path in life and ended up being stoic to keep your ego up. Deep down, you know you've lost this game you play Damon. Your own game. You lost it." Stefan's voice went lower and lower that it made it difficult for me to make out the words.

"And along the way...."Stefan continued. "You lost your humanity, your heart, your trust..."Then his voice spoke in a whisper but it was a loud enough whisper for me to hear. "And your brother." He mumbled under his breath. "Your only "source of family."

"Well maybe he's doing it so he wouldn't lose his only source of family."

Stefan peered over Damon's shoulders only to see Elena emerge through the door.

"Ah, Elena."Damon exclaimed and gave Stefan and malice smile. "About time you joined us."

"About time?"Stefan was confused.

"Didn't you know?"Damon crossed his arms and gave his brother a sarcastic look of surprise. "Elena has been listening the whole time."After noticing how tongue-tied his brother was, he went on. "Oh that's right. You've been starving yourself for days to even recharge your powers." He snorted.

"Elena..."

"What's going on Stefan?"Elena looked at both brothers.

"Yeah, what's going on baby brother?"Damon tilted his head and looked at his brother.

"Elena...I."He sighed. "It's complicated."

"So beat it."Elena palavered. "It didn't sound that complicated while the both of you were discussing."

Stefan opened his mouth to answer but Elena interrupted him. "Anyway whatever the two of you were discussing, Stefan, maybe Damon's doing it so he wouldn't lose his only source of family."

Damon pursed his lips, impressed.

"You don't know him Elena." Stefan's voice sounded more like a warning.

"I don't think I know you either." Elena crossed her arms across her chest and shook her head. Damon whistled. "There are just so many things I didn't realise that I didn't know. You and Damon...the two of you keep secrets between yourselves and I feel so....lost."

"Which is why I mentioned earlier that there are a lot of things about the Salvatore brothers that you have to find out?" Damon butted in and Stefan raised an eyebrow.

"Earlier?"

"Yeah."Damon shrugged. "We had breakfast together." He noticed the confused, lost look on Stefan's face and smiled. "Oh wait, she didn't tell you."

Stefan looked at Elena who shifted uncomfortably.

"It's just breakfast."

"With Damon."Stefan added in.

"My brother-in-law _to be_."Elena snapped and he fell silent. "Besides you were at the library and Bonnie and Meredith knew anyway."

"Elena, he's dangerous."

"How dangerous could he get?"Elena snapped and Damon whistled again.

"I wouldn't ask that question if I were you Elena."He shrugged and picked up a miniature statue from the old oak wood table Mrs. Flowers would leave Stefan's mail at.

"I'm not afraid of you."She glared at Damon then turned back at Stefan. "I'm not afraid of Damon. I can't be cradled by you in the wilderness. I'm a vampire too Stefan. I've got to learn to live."

"At least your fiancée has sense."Damon muttered and returned the miniature statue. "Even she knows a normal vampire's behaviour."He approached his older brother and whispered into Stefan's ears. "Survival, baby brother. Even if it goes against humanity."

Ignoring him, Stefan turned to look at Elena. "Did you feed on human blood?"

"WHAT?"

"She fed on me."Damon clicked his tongue and grinned.

"What? No! What the hell Damon?"She exclaimed but Damon seemed to be enjoying every minute of Stefan's confusion. For the first time ever, he seemed to be dubious about Elena's answer. His eyes were focused on Damon's, and only Damon's.

"Admit it Stefan. You're just jealous how people connect with me easier because of my generosity of sharing blood." He sighed and pulled his sunglasses out of his jacket. "It's a wonder why people don't connect with you...."

"You force people with your blood Damon."Stefan snickered. "You want them to connect with you. You're _desperate."_He felt the blood boil inside of him. Even the Elena's grip on his arms grew tighter when she noticed him slowly leaning towards Damon. "You're desperate."He repeated, spitting between his teeth. "Because you're alone."

Damon's coal black eyes grew darker and darker than it already words until it looked like dark voids. Slipping his sunglasses over his eyes, Damon fetched his jacket off their bed and stopped to look at his young brother.

"Chill. It's your wedding tomorrow." Then he looked at the both of them. "You two have a great wedding."

Elena couldn't see his eyes so she couldn't guess his expression. Instead, she watched him disappear behind the front door, leaving it ajar. When he was gone, and this time, she was sure he was gone, she turned to look at Stefan who looked calmer than he had been a few seconds ago.

"What was that about?" She demanded.

"What?"

"The whole tactless speech?"

"Something Damon deserves to listen to."

"No he doesn't."She defended. "As much as we both find Damon irritating that wasn't the right way Stefan. That's what Damon does to bring his adversaries down. You're not like that."

She slowly pulled her hands away and looked at him. "Stefan, I did not take any of Damon's blood."

She expected an 'It's okay' or a hug or a kiss but Stefan didn't move. Instead, he hesitantly shrugged and unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt. "I'm exhausted."

He laid on one side of the bed with his back facing her. Sighing, she crept up beside him and rested her chin on his shoulder and a hand on his arm. "Sorry."She whispered and gave him a short kiss on the cheek but he didn't reply.

---------------------

Thanks so much for the reviews!

Hope you like it (:

R&R please :D


	6. The One of a Kind

_Dear diary,_

I was supposed to get married today but I'm not...because of something really stupid. I can't help but blame myself. I mean, Stefan has always been there by my side to protect me and be by my side as we go through with anything. I can't believe I sided Damon yesterday but diary, since when did Elena Gilbert play softy? Part of me feels tired of being the kind of girl who sit in bed all day waiting for Mr. Greasy Prince Charming to show up with a bouquet of flowers. I'm tired of hiding and being locked up in the boarding house or…being isolated from the world we live in.

I'm on earth but somehow, I feel like part of me is being trapped in an enclosed area. It's like only exploring a cellar when you've got the whole house. I'm tired of the fact that Vampires, me in particular need to hide out from the rest. I mean, why can't people just know?

I sound insane now don't I. Of course people can't know. I'm supposed to be dead. Elena is supposed to be dead. Dead. Why does that word scare me so much. Why can't I accept the fact that I just am.

Everyday, I watch Matt – who's probably the most normal among us all, grow and fill in college applications. Come to think of it, I'm not going.

Although I wish I was. I remember talking about college back when Caroline and I used to be best friends. We dreamed of going somewhere big…somewhere city-like and not deserted like Fell's Church. Somewhere where we could party and hang out with cute boys. Everytime I think of that diary, I smile because…that's who Elena Gilbert is.

That's Elena Gilbert and Caroline Forbes. I miss those days. In fact, I miss being normal.

I couldn't imagine living on and on with the same man in my life because knowing that true love never lasts for centuries scares me. Stefan had a lover before and he's loving me now. Had he and his previous lover shared what we share now? Did they think they were going to last forever? I can't imagine not being with Stefan, diary. After our fight, just being away from him feels scary.

It's not losing him that's scary, is the thought that I gave my life up for Stefan because I thought we could be forever and ever but as I grow older, I realize things.

Love never lasts forever.

Even when we're both seventeen, how would years and years of being with Stefan feel like? Would we feel like an old couple stuck in a young high school couple's body?

I'm scared diary. I'm very scared.

I love Stefan but is it enough to last forever?

* * *

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

Meredith's face was stricken when Elena told her about Stefan's absence when she woke up this morning.

"Gone as in he wasn't there."Elena repeated and took a sip of my morning Starbucks coffee. She felt weird sitting in an enclosed coffee shop with a pair of sunglasses on to hide her identity. She could have simply asked Mrs. Flowers to fix her a cup of coffee but after eating and drinking nothing but Mrs. Flowers' food, Elena yearned for a change.

"W..w…what?"She stammered in shock. "Elena how could he do that it's your wedding day today."

"Tell me about it." Elena took another sip of her coffee and rested her chin on her palm. "But I can't blame him, it's sort of my fault."

"Elena, you sided Damon because it was the right thing to do."Meredith pointed out and Elena watched her take a bite of her waffles.

"I didn't exactly hear the whole conversation. I only butted in towards the end."Elena admitted and took another sip of coffee without knowing the reason why. She was completely awake and hardly thirsty but it was a perfect way to blend in, as Damon would say.

"Yes, but it was the correct last point. Besides Stefan's been….mysterious."

Elena raised an eyebrow and took another sip only to realize her cup was empty. "He's always mysterious, what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."Meredith quickly sighed and fished her cell phone out of her bag when it vibrated. Unlike normal people, Meredith did not fancy ringtones which was no wonder why she hardly answers her phone.

"How can you even hear it?"Elena questioned and watched as Meredith unlocked her phone. "I'm a vampire and I can't even hear it."

"Because you're a vampire who has been listening to too much rock music."Meredith teased and grinned at something on her phone screen.

"True."She paused and slouched in her seat. "You know besides the fact that I'm seventeen forever, I think my life seems pretty normal."

Meredith never tore her gaze away from her phone but spoke. "That's because you're only nineteen in human age. Wait till you grow thirty and watch us grow fat and wrinkled while you're still young and hot with the brain of a fat and wrinkled." Meredith paused and gasped, finally tearing her eyes away from her phone. "Gosh, can you imagine being a hundred but stuck in the body of a teenager?"

Elena squirmed and shuddered.

"Truthfully no." She murmured and sighed.

"You're not supposed to say that Elena."Meredith went on and placed her phone back into her bag. "You're supposed to get used to the truth. I mean, look at Stefan. He's lived for two centuries already."

"Meredith, what if I'm not ready."

"Elena, it's too late you're a vampire.  
"Yeah but…I know this sounds weird but…I don't want to go on living and living for thousands or maybe millions of years and watch generations come and go." She paused and snatched a half bitten piece of waffle from Meredith's table and ate it. It tasted like nothing but plastic.

"You're saying you want to die?"

"I've felt death Meredith so what's the point."

"You tell me, Elena." A baffled looking Meredith insisted and picked her phone up again when it vibrated.

Sighing, Elena looked at her fingers and admired the encrusted diamond ring.

"The point Meredith."Elena looked up and clasped her hand together. "Is that being a vampire kind of reveals everything to you like, there's not surprise left in the world you know."She paused to think. "I mean, it's like all those adventures I wanted to have when I was…human, has been granted and I'm not happy because…Elena Gilbert wants adventure. She wants to discover things and just being a vampire kind of gave it all to me. Like I'm spoon fed when all I want is to be a normal person who makes their own food or perhaps grow some too."

* * *

Stefan shifted the heavy ceramic pot that covered the secret opening to the underground tomb and wiped his dusty hands against his faded jeans. He knew this was wrong, he knew by doing this not only would he betray Elena but Damon too. Still, what did they care? The both of them were beginning to turn against him and going here seemed like the best thing to do.

Stefan kicked the excess mud away to reveal the white ceramic stairs. He placed a foot on them, they were still as solid as they were a century ago.

Taking a deep breath, Stefan descended the staircase and into the dark room. The only source of light came from a dim lighted candle by the corner of the room. It wasn't bright but bright enough to show her face. Her beautiful, empowering face.

"Katherine…" His voice was subtle and low at first due to fear but when her head moved in his direction he felt warmth gush through his blood. Even after a century of being held captive and starved Katherine still looked as beautiful as ever. Her silky blonde hair was long and it fell over her smooth shoulders.

Katherine sat there in the dark and her porcelain skin glowed beneath the dim light. Her electric blue eyes looked up at him warmly and Stefan felt… home.

"How did you know I was here?" Her voice was like bluebells as she cooed. "How did you know I was alive?"

The truth was, Stefan had found out after taking a lonely walk last night to clear his head from Elena but instead, he had stumbled across a group of witches who were deep in discussion. They were talking about a battle and Stefan reckoned it must have had something to do with the witching heritage but when he heard the words 'Vampire Girl', he stopped to listen.

"What are we going to do with the captive?"An old witch with platinum silver hair spoke as she brushed her waist- long hair.

"Who? That vampire girl? "Another witch spoke and the younger witch with silver hair nodded.

"She's dangerous. She's a threat too all of our kind." The younger witch had gone then approached the tiny source of burning wood before enveloping the fire with her creamy hands.

Stefan watched in disgust as her hands began to melt like clay and into the fire. The fire devoured her hands until there was nothing left but thick creamy liquid.

Stefan strained his eyes to watch but then took a few steps back when a blue explosion erupted from the witches hands. The fire extinguished and he looked at the luminous yellow Crystal ball formed from the witch's spell. Her hands were secured and back again.

"She's a threat to her own kind now too!"The older witch spoke but the Silver witch quickly hushed her.

"Chose your words wisely Ingrid."The silver witch advised. "It's not right to say her kind anymore, she isn't a pure vampire now.."

"You're right."Ingrid spoke and pulled her black hood back. Stefan noticed that this witch, Ingrid had curly hair and tan skin but with her back at him, Stefan couldn't make out her face. "This girl is a threat to all of us. With the combination of vampire, witch and Powers blood in her, she's our biggest challenge."

"She just never dies now doesn't she?"The silver witch crackled and stepped away from the blue flame, this time giving Stefan a clear view of who it was and indeed it was Katherine. With her blonde hair and blue eyes it was no denying that the 'strong kind' both witches were currently talking about was Katherine.

"Where'd you keep her?" Ingrid questioned the silver witch, who's named turned out to be Azures, snickered.

"Underneath the church but she's harmless there. Without the combination of three antique blood she's completely dead."

"Antique blood?" Ingrid questioned, her voice was so low that it was nearly inaudible.

"Yes…" Azures licked her pale lips and extinguished the blue flame with Katherine's photo. "The blood of the silver Stallion and the blood of two other Vampire and Witch successor's from the heritages of our great rulers."

Ingrid looked lost and so was Stefan. He carefully crept closer to listen but Azures' face shot up immediately. Simultaneously, Stefan swiftly turned to escape her observation.

"What is it Azures?"He heard Ingrid whisper but Stefan had already disappeared before he heard her reply.

"I see. " Katherine nodded at Stefan's story. Of course, he didn't exactly tell the truth. Minus almost everything, he merely told her that he was out in the woods when he heard two witches talk about a powerful vampire being held captive underneath Fell's Church.

"I missed you."Her melodious voice sang as she drew Stefan closer towards her. Katherine pushed Stefan's tiny curls back and caressed his face. "You haven't changed at all…" She beamed and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'm hungry…"She whispered, slowly lowering his collar only to see two prominent beating veins at his neck. "Stefan…." She held his hair back and planted a kiss on his lips. "Please…"She wheezed and gave him another kiss. When he nodded in agreement, Katherine punctured her fangs into his neck with satisfaction.

"So how is Damon?" She licked his neck to taste the sweetness of his blood.

That name was a bullet being fired at Stefan's face. Damon didn't need to know about Katherine. He couldn't know.

_"Damon's dead._"He muttered without thinking and felt Katherine's lips on his again.

* * *

I know I have been** A.W.O.L**

But things came up in RL so yeah.

I hope you like this though. Hopefully more updates up :D

**_R&R much appreciated._**

Thank you xo !


	7. The Vision

Damon's eyes flew open when he heard her.

Her. She was still alive. He sensed her weak aura through their blood bond. She was somewhere here on earth, somewhere and she had spoke his name. Now why?

"_So how is Damon?"_

She had asked for him. Why? Where was she? Was she looking for him? Or Calling for help?

"Katherine…" He muttered under his breath hoping for a response but of course, he didn't get one. She was too weak. She was starving but where was she? He needed to get to her. He needed to help her.

"Katherine!" He tried again this time throwing in all the concentration he had. Still, no reply.

He needed to look for her. Was he going to tell Stefan? Hell no.

Besides, he need not worry about Stefan hearing her. Having been living on the animal diet for nearly two centuries now Stefan was far from powerful enough to sense these little things.

Damon's head swiftly turned when he heard the gentle sounds of galloping footsteps only to see a sprinting dear run across the woods.

The earth below him was porous and dry with hardly blades of grass growing out from it. Besides weeds and old shrubs, nothing grew in this barren land. Damon still wondered how he had come to find this space in the first place. It was far from the woods but what had brought him here?

He shrugged, not bothering to remember, and sat up.

It was three in the afternoon and Damon was sure he had been diagnosed with some form of narcolepsy. It was either the fact that he was bored or pretty much didn't have anything to do but sleep.

Watching Stefan finally win his happily ever after was nothing but a monotonous show Damon didn't want to see.

He pulled himself up then ran his fingers through his hair before hearing her voice again. This time, slightly louder as though she had just gotten her first dose of blood.

'I loved Damon…."

The sentence was incomplete as her voice faded away but it made Damon's muscles contract.

She loved him. She still did.

"Katherine." He tried again, forcefully this time. "Katherine…" He begged but there was no answer. He tried again, determined to at least get her to respond but his every attempt met failure. Damon felt his heart from weak but determine at the same time like he wasn't going to give up. Katherine's voice had shone a radiant of hope onto him and he was persevered to find her. To finally be with her after all these years. To finally… tell her how much he loved her.

Damon closed his eyes again, slowly breathing in and accepting his failure today. Damon Salvatore never failed and Damon Salvatore always got what he wanted. He opened his eyes again. Perhaps it just wasn't today. Still, he needed some information.

Some hidden information perhaps their old house kept.

* * *

Elena pushed the doors to the boarding house open and stepped in. The interior was dark as it always was with nothing but dim lights to guide the way. She noticed the wilted flowers and it baffled her. The flowers in the boarding house never wilted under Mrs. Flowers' care. Hence, the name. She hung her coat on the coat hanger and froze when she heard creaking noises.

"Stefan?" She called out when she heard subtle footsteps from upstairs. Elena forced all of the lights on and took a deep breath. Stefan's car was outside so he must be here. Allowing the feeling of anxiety to ebb away, Elena walked up the stairs.

The lights were surprisingly on upstairs and her first thought told her that it was probably Mrs. Flowers cleaning their rooms up but then her second thought told her that Mrs. Flowers usually hummed or sang while she cleaned the house. This time, the eerie silence was menacing. Elena felt the shivers run through her skin as she ascended the staircase. The higher she got, the colder and thinner the air became until it nearly felt illegal and sinful to breathe.

"Stefan." She tried again, finally reaching their floor. She turned the door knob to open the door but it wouldn't budge. Elena frowned and tried again. Nothing happened.

Inside, she could have sworn she heard Stefan's voice and tried again, the door wouldn't open. She begged him but his voice went on like a continuous song and ignored her.

Elena felt tears well up in her eyes as she continued to knock on the door but it remained lock.

"Stefan." She gave up and made a last, tiny knock. "Stefan please…" Her voice broke and she rested her forehead on the door. "Stefan…." She whispered, tired of playing games, tired of begging. Just tired of fighting.

"Stefan, I'm over this." She began and heard his voice slowly fade away. "Stefan, I'm tired of us fighting and proving ourselves to each other. I'm tired of just arguing with you." She took a deep breath and felt warm tears escape her eyes. As a vampire, she would have thought her emotions would have been diminished but they remained the same. In fact she was the same Elena, except immortal.

"You're right okay…." She breathed out. "I should have supported you instead of Damon. He's dangerous and you have every right to be mad at me for falling under his charm." She whispered and tried the doorknob again but it was still lock. "Stefan please." She begged. "I don't want him to be the reason for our arguments. It's… It's not worth it Stefan." She pleaded and turned the doorknob again. It was still lock and after several tries, it remained locked and his voice inside was gone, leaving total silence.

"Stefan!" She exclaimed, feeling the tears down her cheeks. "Stefan please open the door!" She yelled slammed the door, harder this time. "Stefan please!" she cried and felt herself break down. "Stefan!" Her lips quivered and tasted her salty tears. They tasted like blood, in a way. Elena tried the doorknob again but it was still lock and in the end, she gave up. She could hear her heavy breathing as she pressed her hands on the door. It was loud enough for Stefan to hear and she knew it but why wasn't answering the door? Could he still be mad at the fact that she had sided Damon? This was so unlike Stefan. She couldn't believe it.

"Stefan…" She whispered again and sucked her tears in. "I love you…"

"Awwww…"

Elena swiftly turned and saw Damon standing there looking impressed while he clapped.

"That was really touching. Very touching indeed." He flashed her that mysterious smile again but Elena didn't have her mind on that neither did she even hear a word Damon say. Instead, her eyes were focused on the strange black figure behind Damon. She wasn't sure if it was real or merely a silhouette but as it emerged out from the shadows, she gasped.

It flashed it's fangs at Elena, clearly it was a vampire, and Elena saw blood dripping from both sides of it. It hissed but Damon seemed to not have noticed as he stood there still clapping.

"Damon!" She shrieked and this time he turned but everything happened so fast.

Elena watched the creature pierce it's fangs into his pulsating veins and jab it's left hands onto Damon's wrist, simultaneously stopping the blood flow from his arteries. Damon wasn't fast enough which was abnormal.

Elena shrieked as she watched Damon struggle to get out of it's grip but failed. His hands moved violently to throw the creature back but whatever Damon did, produced no successful results.

Part of her told her to save him. To attack the creature and to be vampire.

She was a vampire for God's sakes but Elena's muscles were paralyzed. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe. She felt asphyxiated like she was drowning in a pool of water.

Elena felt water fill her lungs and she knew Damon couldn't breathe either. He was growing paler and paler with his lips almost the same colour of his skin. Elena barely had oxygen to breathe or speak and she felt her heart contract as though it was being squeezed by an enemy.

She couldn't talk but she could hear and Damon was calling out for her. He was yelling for help for the very first time and all Elena could do was stand there and watch. She struggled to move and break free from this paralyzing curse and when she finally did, Elena felt her heart shatter onto the ground.

The colour on Damon's skin was starting to return and Elena noticed his rich, red lips. He had life again but just before she stared hoping for the best…

Elena shrieked.

Damon was staked and all that colour that was once there drew out in a blink of an eye.

Elena shouted, this time charging towards the creature.

She threw herself forward and lunged for the enemy only to fall onto empty ground.

Elena felt her eyes grow red with hunger as Damon's blood soaked her hair and clothes.

Abruptly, Elena turned her head when she heard Mrs. Flowers' voice.

"No!" She yelled but it was too late.

The creature lunged it self at her and mauled her to death leaving a pale, drained looking Mrs. Flowers lying on the floor.

"Sweet dreams."He crackled before disappearing into the shadows.

Elena didn't understand. She couldn't fathom why the creature hadn't attacked her.

As fast as lightning, Elena sprang up and raced after it. She followed it's dark shadows out of the house but it disappeared the minute she stepped out of the boarding house. The sky was bright and welcoming like a usual warm summer evening and the flowers looked fresh and healthy.

Breathing deeply, Elena reentered the boarding house and dashed up the stairs but what she saw made her heart stop.

He wasn't there. He was gone.

She turned to look at Mrs. Flowers. She was gone too.

Elena stared at the clean floor incredibly. There wasn't a stain of blood from where both of them had lain then Elena looked down at her own outfit.

She was clean. There wasn't any signs of blood.

Thoughts lingered through Elena's mind. Twisting everything to form masses and masses of confusion.

She shook her head and ran her fingers through her dry hair. This wasn't happening.

Elena's head turned immediately when she heard the subtle sounds of a human from inside of the room. Stefan? Was the first thing that crossed her mind. This time, when she turned the doorknob, the door opened and she pushed it open defiantly.

"Damon!?" She gasped and he quickly turned to look at her with several letters and documents in his hands. "I..I…"

"You look like you've just seen a ghost." He snorted then picked up two boxes and placed them on Elena and Stefan's bed.

"What…."Elena felt tongue-tied. "You…"

"Chillax." Damon rolled his eyes and picked up several letters from the box. "I'm just here to collect some of my stuff okay. I won't disturb you.." He chuckled and looked down at old parchments from his ancient diary, or was it Stefan's? He couldn't help but think. Oh well, even if it was Stefan's, he wouldn't mind reading a few things going on in his brother's mind.

He was on the verge of looking up at Elena again, after remembering her presence, but found her by his side at once. For the first time, Elena had used her vampire speed gift. Elena's confused face not only aroused the confusion in him but her action of cupping his face in between her hands made him even more baffled.

"Uh… Elena?" He tried to talk with both his cheeks compressed by her.

"You're… alive." She finally breathed out and pulled her hands away.

It was official then, Damon thought. She was nuts.

"Literally?" He questioned but she ignored him.

"It can't be…" She breathed out and pressed her palms onto her head. "N.n.n..n..oo I ..I saw you." She stared at him. "I saw you get drained. I saw you get staked…"

Damon laughed as though whatever she said amused him.

"Elena if you honestly think my brother would maul me to death because of that nice brunch we had, you though wrong. See, Stefan and I have bigger things to argue about…"

"No it wasn't Stefan." Elena muttered and watch Damon return at doing what he had been doing earlier.

Elena stood there aghast and ashen. Damon Salvatore was standing right here looking as coiffed and neat as he always did in that leathery, black outfit of his. His neck did not have bite marks and he looked as alive and strong as he always did.

"Mrs. Flowers…" Elena slowly breathed out and Damon looked at her.

"You said something?"

"Mrs. Flowers."Elena repeated, clearer this time. "The both of you were killed right here in the boarding house."

"Mrs. Flowers is fiiinneee Elena." Damon dragged on as though bored by her obscure, fantasy imaginations. "In fact I just walked past her as she watered the flowers, humming that… what's that country girl called again?"

Elena was too busy rummaging through her thoughts to even answer.

"Oh yeah, Taylor Swift." He smacked his lips then looked back down at his box while humming Love Story by Taylor.

"Damon I'm not lying." She spoke up firmly.

"I know you're not Elena." Damon sighed slightly irritated. "You're just dazed and...." He scrutinised her. "hungry."

"Damon!" She hissed between her teeth. "I'm not lying and I swear, I know what I saw."

"Yeah, except do you know what you're seeing now too?" He took a step back and pointed at himself. "Alive-Damon?"

"That's why it doesn't make sense." She snapped and felt her face grow weak. " I saw you die Damon. I saw you get... mauled by that creature which didn't even look like a real vampire. He had...great fangs but his....power was just.."

"Elena you seriously miss Stefan don't you?" Damon interjected and crossed his arms across his chest.

" That's irrelevant." She sneered and watched Damon roll his eyes.

"Okay, then another factor might be because you're hungry."

"I'm not LYING!" She shouted and gripped the collars to his leather jacket but her loud shout was followed by a great thump sound from outside.

The both of them turned at the great din and Elena heard Damon whistle. Courage seemed like his middle name.

"Woah, you're good Gilbert." He snickered then followed her out of the room. The hallway was pitched black again and even when Elena had bad assumptions in herself, Damon reckoned it was the electricity cut. He followed her as she made her way out the backdoor then sighed when he saw an overturned tree with several workers and trucks by it. Obviously, the were collecting timber.

"You're growing paranoid you know that Elena." Damon chanted and was on the verge of walking back into the house when he felt Elena's strong grip on is arm. Reluctantly, he turned to face her.

"What?"

But this time she didn't answer and merely pointed at something on the rooftop. Damon followed her direction and felt his pupils dilate.

Mrs. Flowers was hanging from the lightning rod, bleeding.

"Man you're good Elena." She heard him mumble under his breath.

* * *

Thanks so much for the reviews, favourites and alerts :D

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

R&R much appreciated.

**Thank you xo !**


	8. The Happily Ever After

_Damon turned to look from Mrs. Flowers then at a trembling Elena._

_"Damon." She whispered. "_**_I think I'm seeing things_**_.."_

* * *

_Dear diary,_

_Stefan is still missing and I'm tired of worrying about everything. About him and about the people out there so I did something to myself diary. I dyed my hair. At least that would decrease my chances of getting spotted right? Bonnie says I look different and I think I do. Well, slightly but Damon says hair dyes don't work on vampires. He could have told me that earlier before I actually bought it, let alone used it._

_Love, xo Elena_

* * *

"I swear Bonnie, I saw what I saw." Elena spoke into the phone as she pulled her sunglasses over her eyes and walked into Starbucks that morning. Many would have thought that all Vampires drank was blood but Elena did read somewhere that caffeine and tannin was good for the Vampire immune system. In other words, it made the body calmer so that it would get startled and wounded easily upon sudden contact. Plus, the addition of honey in tea made wound healing faster. The first time she told Stefan about it, he nodded politely at her and she thought she had achieved success in discovering something new. It wasn't later when she told Damon about it and he had laughed at her and called the facts nothing but plain bull.

Still, even in the human world Elena had been a fan of organic and health related facts which Matt wouldn't believe so it made no difference to want to feel satisfied with something similar in the vampire world. Bull or no bull, she believed it.

"Bonnie, you're my best friend and I'm going to be honest with you." Elena muttered and ordered a black for Damon and an Iced Mocha for herself. She was never a fan of strong caffeine other than having them in her Iced blended drinks.

Elena bit her lip.

"When Damon got bitten I didn't do anything. Like, my whole body was frozen." Elena spoke and paid the barista when she placed her order. "But the inside of me was screaming. Even when he had just insulted me five minutes ago."

Elena slipped her bag down her hand to carry both cups of coffee then pressed her cell phone against her ear with her shoulder.

"I don't know Bonnie." Elena went on and pushed the door open with her back. "It was like seeing him in anguish made it hurtful but then I wasn't doing anything to stop it either. Like I didn't mind seeing him die..." Elena paused and squealed when she felt the cold sensation on her body. She looked down at her spilled Iced Blended than up at the klutz who had banged in to her.

The girl was slightly shorter than her with creamy, pale skin. Her perfectly round eyes were electric sapphire blue and they stood out from her creamy skin. Her well-brushed, wavy blonde hair fell perfectly over her sharp shoulder blades and collar bone. However, she looked foreign in her ancient Renaissance robe which was rare to find in Fells Church now days.

The weird thing was, the girl looked exactly...like Elena.

Elena's lips stood parted as she watched the girl push the door open and was on the verge of entering when she turned and beamed at Elena. Elena frowned and turned around.

It couldn't be her, she was... dead.

"_S__weet dreams..._" The voice cooed and Elena's pupils dilated as she swung around to look at the girl. Like a mad psychopath, Elena raced into the shop and scanned the room, ignoring the confused faces being thrown her way. Katherine was gone.

Elena checked both men and women's bathroom but she was out of sight.

It couldn't be. Elena thought. I killed Katherine. She's dead. She died several times. It's impossible.

"Elena?" Elena didn't realise that Bonnie was still on the phone with her.

Trembling, she raised the phone and spoke.

"I've got to go."

"Where?" Bonnie demanded but Elena had already lost her focus.

_"Damon."_

* * *

Stefan stood there, arms crossed against his chest as he stared at the boarding house from a distance. She was in there, he sensed her, but he also sensed that she was not alone. Instead, she had that heartless mignon in there with him. No, let him rephrase that, she had gone to see that heartless mignon who had been there all night deep in thoughts.

Stefan sensed his deep aura and knew Damon was up to something but what was it? He watched him reside in that house for nearly two days straight now without going out to hunt. This wasn't like Damon at all. Stefan took a deep breath and watched Elena walk into the house. She had dyed her hair into a dark shade of brown and Stefan didn't know why. In his opinion, she looked a lot more beautiful with that natural platinum blonde hair but then again, she was always beautiful in his eyes.

At first, Stefan kept watch of her to see how she was doing. The first few nights were rough. Stefan forced himself to watch Elena cry herself to sleep or sometimes even talk on the phone with Bonnie or Meredith. He couldn't fathom her thoughts but he could hear their conversation well enough to link all the sentences up together to form a story. She was heartbroken and crushed. She called for him at night but all he could do was sit and wait.

He couldn't go up to her and he didn't know why either. A part of him loved her a lot. A part of him wanted to cradle her in his arms like last time but then, Katherine came into the picture. After giving her blood, Katherine was starting to build strength. She wasn't as strong as she was but she definitely as stronger. With a dose of Stefan's blood, Katherine was able to smile, laugh and move her hands but she still couldn't walk. Stefan couldn't comprehend why and neither could she but then it struck him that she needed those three bloods to regain power.

Of course, he wasn't sure he could tell her that just yet. He had to be careful.

Stefan watched Elena enter the room. She stood still for a while at the door, not approaching the mignon and for a moment he was glad. He was glad that Elena still had some sense in her. It drew him to the desire of wanting to just walk towards her. After all, Katherine was nothing but useless underneath the church but then.. he couldn't. He couldn't promise himself happiness with Elena while Damon was around. He knew that the boys Elena fell for were like Damon. Charming, Exquisite and very outspoken. Damon fitted in well with the modern crowd, the crowd Elena was from.

Why couldn't she just see that? Why couldn't she just accept the fact that somewhere deep down she did have feelings for Damon and that he made life less boring for her?

Stefan! Something yelled inside of him and Stefan shook his head out of his incredulous thoughts.

What was he thinking? Of course he wouldn't let Damon and Elena be.

_Never._

* * *

_"Damon...."_

That voice cooed in his ear again and Damon felt her soft, lingering touch on his face. Her milky, smooth hands caressed his face and Damon felt the warmth gush through his blood like a fireplace during winter. His eyes were closed but he could feel her silky, blonde hair on his chest as she rested her head on his chest. He reached his hand out to touch it and felt it. It was real. It _felt_ real.

Katherine giggled her usual girly giggle and touched his lips with her slender fingers before leaning down to kiss it. She ran his fingers through his hair then nuzzled her nose against his. His subtle chuckle made her blush but she pulled away. Damon couldn't see her. He couldn't feel her anymore. He reached out for her but she wasn't there. Her melodious voice still echoed in his ear and he searched like a groping blind man.

"Katherine?" He called out like a lost puppy. "Katherine, my love?" Her giggles grew louder and louder and Damon felt perspiration trickle down his sideburns. "Katherine?"

Then he saw her. She led him down a cellar with nothing but old tombs and dust. It looked like an old, ancient room with silvery cobwebs hanging from the corners of the ceiling. Something trickled onto his face and Damon looked up to see a white, silvery liquid. It was thick and viscous like the saliva of a tarantula but it definitely did not smell like one.

"Katherine?" He called out again and slowly saw her emerge, this time, with someone else in her arm. Damon strained his eyes to see in the dark light and noticed the man.

_Stefan._

"Stefan?" He breathed out but Katherine held his hands and handed it to Stefan.

"I love the both of you." Her voice chanted as she pulled both Stefan and Damon closer to her. "and we're going to live happily every after, the three of us..."

_The three of us_.

That phrase echoed in Damon's ear as he watched the scenes fade away. Her subtle, harmless voice looped in his head, growing louder and louder every moment.

_Happily... ever.... after_....

"Damon!"

Damon shot his eyes open.

"Narcoleptic much?" Elena groaned and Damon peered around, still dazed from his dream.

_Dream_. That's right. It was just a dream.

"You're always sleeping whenever I come around." Elena's grip on his shoulders were released when she hopped off the bed and took a seat on the sofa.

"What have been doing anyway?"

Damon pulled himself up and wiped his sweaty face, glad that the tarantula spit was gone.

"I haven't fed in two days Elena." He muttered and grimaced at the sudden back ache.

"Since when do you starve yourself?" She began to grow wary.

Damon stood up and stretched. "Since I figured I could lose a pound or two."

The apprehension in Elena ebbed away when she saw that the old Damon was back.

"Well would coffee help put off the starvation for a while?" Elena asked, holding out the cup of black coffee she had bought for him.

"You know drinking coffee in starvation mode is just like drinking alcohol with an empty stomach."He pointed out , indirectly turning the coffee down then yawned. "I'm going to need to feed to get me fully awake."

Elena sighed and watched as he walked towards the mirror and ruffled his tousled, bed hair.

"Damon I saw Katherine..."

Damon froze and Elena saw his face change through his reflection on the mirror. It was stern like he was trying hard not to show any signs of emotion but Elena knew it hit him like a fist in the face.

"You're crazy Elena." He spoke after a few minutes of silent then crossed his arms across his chest and chuckled. "You know now I really think you miss Stefan."

"Damon I'm not lying." She stood up and approached him. "I was right about Mrs. Flowers and I know I'm right about Katherine."

"You were wrong about me." He crossed his arms across his chest and gave her a brief nod as though mocking her.

"Maybe it's a sign Damon." He faltered after being speechless for several minutes. She watched Damon let out another aggravated groan. She was nuts.

"No wonder Stefan couldn't stand you." He muttered under his breath, forgetting that Elena had already adopted the sharp hearing senses of a vampire.

"What did you say?" He heard her snap than in an instance, she was standing right in front of him with her teeth gritted to show her perfectly white fangs. When Damon clearly ignored her, Elena felt her blood boiled and she gripped the collars of his shirt.

Damon looked at Elena, first with a confused expression then broke into an awry smile at her cute attempt to flash her bravado.

"You mean no wonder no one can stand you." She hissed and heard his shirt tore when one of her sharp nails cut through them. "You selfish, arrogant jerk." She knifed him with her words and while Damon remained amused, Elena simply felt herself burn brighter with rage. She was on the verge to open her mouth when a sharp, brittle breeze blackened the house. The first tiny explosive sound of the burnt out light bulbs made Elena choke on her own saliva as she gradually released Damon.

Before anyone could say a word, another sharp breeze caused every open door and window to slam shut and the howling sound of werewolves in a ritual haunted the boarding house. She heard Damon mutter 'wind' and his fast reflexes saved him from an unplugged table lamp.

Elena trembled as mist asphyxiated every mirror and glass in the room. Her heart stopped beating when she heard that familiar, raucous voice that had haunted her merely days before her wedding day. That same voice that wished her sweet dreams now echoed the room. She couldn't make out his words but they sounded like a curse, like a threat. It was like a cacophony, except worse.

Then she heard _him _yell.  
_Stefan yelled_ and when his yell ceased, everything else ceased along.

The room was bright and clean again, leaving no evidence of what had happened. Elena caught Damon standing there as speechless as she was.

"Damon." She croaked and looked up at him. "You heard it, didn't you?" She felt her eyes burn. "You heard Stefan yell."

He didn't reply and stared blankly at her.

"Damon!" She felt tears well in her eyes. "Damon, we need to save Stefan. We need to find him!" Her voice trembled like a lost girl on the prairie but he remained unvoiced. Elena couldn't believe it. She stared at Damon in disbelief and shouted again but then it struck her.

He was growing paler and paler.

Whiter and whiter. Ashen and ashen. His colour, fading and fading.

"D..d..?" She stuttered then her eyes fell onto a shining piece of metal pierced at his neck. He wasn't staked but...

Elena reached for the metal. It was silver and not just any ordinary silver blade. The blade was melting and the more it melted, the more he grew paler like the mercury-silver blade.

_He was poisoned._

_

* * *

  
_

**Sorry** if the previous chapter was confusing!

But yeah, after reading this I thought you should know that Elena is '_seeing things_' as she told Damon.

So yeah.... :D

**_Thank you_** SO MUCH for the reviews and comments. You guys seriously inspire me to write :D

**R&R much appreciated.**

Thank you!


	9. The witch

**The Silver Witch **

There was a knock on the door and without even turning around, Damon made a short 'mm' and the visitor walked in. He heard the clicking sound of high, pointed heels on the old, wooden floorboards of Mrs. Flowers's boarding house – well, it was Mrs. Flower's boarding house but seeing as she was dead and his brother has been nothing but M.I.A for the past two weeks, Damon had nonchalantly called this place home. Even Elena seemed to have moved in to either Bonnie or Meredith's for the past few weeks. It was mostly Bonnie, Damon thought as he flipped the pages to his book. But then again, Elena has been spending quiet some time at Meredith's lately. He'd give Bonnie a 60 percent, give or take.

"Damon go to sleep." The visitor spoke with tedious authority and without even looking at her, he sensed her crossing both her arms across her chest. The crackling sound of Elena's nylon sleeves against one another were like ear-splitting fireworks now that he had enough of blood in him. It was almost as though those gallons of stolen blood from the blood bank had amplified his five senses and probably added a sixth one that allowed him to envision things without turning around to actual look at them.

"Good morning, nice to see you too." He responded with a hint of mock sarcasm and scanned the flimsy, brown piece of parchment that he had found folded in between page 207 and 208. Elena sighed, a habit that seemed too often now days, and took a seat on his bed.

"Damon, you haven't slept ever since…what happened." He sensed the inconspicuous delay in her speech and her face grew slightly uncomfortable for half a second before easing again. The both of them knew what happened the other day but neither understood what _really_ happened. "And you're going to have to heal."

"I heal fast, thanks." He crumpled the paper when it came to no use and tossed it to one side of Stefan's old, mahogany desk. The wound that came as a result of the inexplicable stake last week had left a rather prominent scar on his right neck and at the sight of it, Elena would always sigh. It took a lot of resistance to prevent himself from actually snagging some of Mrs. Flower's powder to conceal it just to satisfy Elena's eyes and escape her whole 'Damon blah blah blah' speech. But of course, the scar still stood out like a Swan in a flock of dull, grey pigeons. Maybe now, I finally know how Harry Potter feels, Damon thought and chuckled to himself only to regret it a minute later when he sensed curiosity in Elena's eyes.

"Oh God, I was thinking of Harry Potter?" He told her and flipped the pages once more. "You don't have to keep worrying about me. I'm not a baby and just so you know Elena, I've had worse injuries." He pointed out but she didn't seem the least convinced.

"I know Damon." She pulled her toned legs onto his bed and crossed them. "But don't you get it? This is a wound that isn't actually healing."

Damon placed a hand on the silver slash on his neck and looked at her.

"Okay so maybe it is healing but it's healing at a really slow rate." She argued but he seemed satisfied enough by the fact that it was healing. Elena remembered the first few hours after the injuring and how the wound never stopped bleeding. It had actually taken her courage to try and focus all of her power onto him just to heal it. Of course, even combined, their powers weren't strong enough to heal this thing and by the time they managed to seal the wound up, Damon was burnt out and she had sensed a migraine in her overworked mind.

"Which is why you need sleep." She butted and Damon finally snapped his book shut.

"Dear, dear Elena." He peered at her through those ice black eyes. "First you come up with a theory that Vampires should drink coffee to improve their health." He stifled his chuckles, not wanting to hurt her. "And now you're telling me to get adequate sleep so I would heal?"

Elena felt her cheeks grow warm and scarlet when he spoke. Why was it that she sounded dumber when he said it?

"It sounds dumber than the time Stefan told me starving ourselves was a form of detox." He snorted but at the mention of that name, Elena felt herself grow queasy. _Stefan._

Damon sensed the sudden change of air that beleaguered them. From dry humour, the atmosphere was suddenly lachrymose and Elena's youthful glow had changed to anxiety and worry.

"Hey." He tried to offer some comfort and took a seat beside her on the bed. "We'll find Stefan, I promise." A part of him was astonished at how sincere and real that promise sounded. Elena's gaze dissolved into his and a part of her felt relaxed and assured by Damon's sincere words. It was like a promising but dim radiant light of hope bright enough to shower her with warmth and assurance. Elena tossed him a smile and even though seventy percent of herself had hoped to get one back in return, she wasn't surprised when Damon immediately averted his glance and got up to being his normal self.

"After all, the cinemas are out of good movies now days." He rubbed his supple chin urbanely and flashed her that kilowatt smile that sent a thousand of pulsating electrical nerve impulses through her nodes of Ranvier. "I'm in the mood of a soap opera right now."

Elena rolled her eyes, having been accustomed to his sarcasm and tucked a lock of silky, russet brown hair behind her ears. "Mmmm-hmm." She pursed her lips and stretched her legs so that they hung over Stefan's tall mattress. "Don't forget you'll be part of the soap opera."

"Wrong." He pointed out and Elena watched him unbutton his black chemise only to change into another identical but clean pair. Uniform, Elena thought and laughed secretly to herself but of course, she was stuck in a rather small room with one of the most powerful vampires so it wasn't a wonder when he noticed it and grew curious himself.

"You were saying?" She quickly posed, not wanting him to broach the topic of her laughing. It seemed pointless and lately, there was never time to do pointless things. Not when Stefan was probably being tortured somewhere.

"I mean I'll be sitting back with a bag of popcorn while you and my brother get everyone else teary when you exchange those vows."

Elena sighed, not wanting to argue anymore. It was pointless arguing with Damon Salvatore and if he were to be thrown into a debate competition, it was undeniable that he would win it, hands down. With or without the support of his fellow teammates.

Elena was on the verge of calling his name when Damon pulled a chair up to sit opposite of her then ignorantly rested both his legs on the bed and slouched back.

"So did you find anything about what happened?" He questioned and Elena sighed pathetically.

"Not really." She murmured and pulled several old, dusty books from her bag. "I got these from the library yesterday." Elena watched Damon scrutinize it from behind those hawk eyes. "I thought we could probably go through it together but Bonnie called up last minute to get me to help her with the Fells Church Dinner Gala tomorrow." She pressed her lips together and sighed. "She's a member of one of the founding families, figures."

A wave of monotonous silence drowned them for a moment when Damon kept his gaze locked onto the books as though he hadn't heard a single word she said. Sighing, Elena stood up and fixed her coat.

"Anyway, I thought you could start first and give us a head start." She went on and he finally looked up.

"Where'd you get these anyway?" He wondered and scanned the viscous, red stamp marks on each of the book. "These stamps indicate that they're from–"

"The restricted section." Elena spoke calmly and shrugged. "I know."

Damon eyed her curiously for a moment and when Elena couldn't stand faking her cool any longer, she began to chuckle and rolled her eyes.

"I'm a bad girl sometimes, so what?" She tugged her bag closer to her and turned to leave, smiling the whole time as she approached the door. For once, being bad gave her a sense of pleasure like an adrenaline rush. Except a good one. This wasn't normally her. She didn't like risks or danger but I guess after dying twice and hanging out with two vampires, things in Elena had begun to change.

* * *

"Any clue about the silver liquid thing?" Bonnie asked as both herself and Elena continued to sew sheen sequins onto the burgundy piece of fabric as part of the décor for tomorrow's Arabian Nights Themed gala dinner. Elena shook her head and completed her fiftieth sequin while Bonnie struggled with her tenth.

"I gave Damon some books. He's probably reading them right now." She told her and looked up when she sensed the tickly feel of smoke in her nose. Across her where Bonnie sat, the fabric was in flames. Panic erupted in Elena and she peered around to make sure no one was looking.

"Bonnie!" She hissed and repeated it, louder to cut Bonnie out of her trance. It worked and the fire immediately extinguished, scarcely leaving a speck of ash to mark its occurrence.

"Sorry." Bonnie's fiery, flaming hair seemed to have drooped down the same time the fire got put out. Her beady eyes were filled with insincere remorse. "I was angry and frustrated with this thing." She gestured at the innocent, glittering sequin that seemed to reflect all seven colours of the rainbow as it shone beneath the ceiling light.

Rolling her eyes, Elena went on but Bonnie beat her to it and spoke.

"Elena, do you remember that spell I did when Damon ran out of town?"

Elena searched her mind and shook her head.

"The one where with bits and pieces of his DNA, I could reach him and call him back?"

Elena nodded.

"Well, I tried it on Stefan…" Bonnie began almost in an inaudible murmur. She sensed the rising hope in Elena and could almost see the pulsating nerves through her chalky, translucent skin but it all stopped but she tossed her a look of disappointment. "It didn't work Elena."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Elena spoke between her quivering lips.

"He's not dead." Bonnie concluded, reading Elena's mind. "There are two possibilities."

Elena sat up alert.

"He's either put up some form of barricade to shield his mind contact or he's in an undetectable place. Like…nowhere on earth and the grave doesn't count because I would know if he was dead. I'd get back black matter instead of a void." Bonnie told her and Elena bit her lip.

An undetectable place? She kept repeating those words in her mind over and over again until something like faint ember sparked up in her mind.

"Like another dimension?" She suggested and watched Bonnie merely shrug her shoulders.

Both girls got back to sewing the sequins but Elena had her mind somewhere else. Another dimension….she hasn't heard of one except for the one she sort of lived in while being semi dead and semi not dead. What does a person call a dead immortal? Yeah, exactly.

Bonnie was still fidgeting with the loose diamonds as Elena peered around to think but then something caught her eye. Her cerulean eyes landed on two young women- or rather ladies with silky, silver hair of the colour of a million of assorted translucent cobwebs. For a moment, Elena found her eyes focusing on them that the whole room blurred out but then she realized she wasn't hallucinating. Those two witches were sucking in all the detail from the room so that they stood out like a pair of diamonds in grey dust.

Elena blinked for a moment to redeem her vision and when the details finally returned to place, she sighed in relief. Elena was on the verge of looking away when she caught the witch peering around. For an inexplicable reason, the silver-haired lady with porcelain skin didn't seem to notice her and turned back to look at her fabric in satisfaction. She was sewing on sequins just like Bonnie and Elena. However, she didn't seem to be using her hands. Instead, Elena saw her locking her gaze onto the fabric just like how Bonnie had when she had been in a trance then in a second, the sequins – all of them, were completely sewed onto the fabric.

The lady smiled in satisfaction and slouched back nonchalantly as though proud of her work. Biting her lip, Elena turned back to look at Bonnie who seemed to had witnessed the whole thing too.

"What…"

"Bonnie." Elena began and quickly turned her head when the silver-haired lady caught them staring. Damn, Elena swore under her breath and got back to her work but before she could make her first stitch, she sensed a shadow over her burgundy fabric and a blatant squeak from Bonnie told her that the lady was standing right there.

"Hey." She spoke in a voice akin to the sound of harps playing. Slowly and reluctantly both Bonnie and Elena turned to face her. For a moment, the lady stood there staring at her and Elena noticed the icy, white rings that enclosed her dark pupils but after a moment, those cobalt blue eyes turned into a shade of dark, menacing grey as she spoke through her thin, pale lips.

"Forget what you saw…"

Elena wasn't sure if that was meant as an influence – something Damon and Stefan had told her about earlier where vampires use mine controls to influence people, or that the girl was trying to scare them.

Either way, it didn't work.

"Umm…"

The girl's eyes returned to normal immediately when she sensed her failed attempt and an expression between embarrassment and anger emerged on her face.

"Sorry." She apologized without sounding the least sorry. Elena found herself tongue-tied for a moment and merely sat there, clueless of what to say until the girl spoke up again. "It's just.." She paused and scanned the room. "I'm Azures." She shoved a hand out and before Elena could send a telepathic message or an inconspicuous gesture to warn Bonnie not to shake it, she did. The expression on Azure's face changed immediately to something Elena couldn't read.

She prayed the whole time hoping Azures wouldn't shove a hand out to her but then she did and without wanting to seem indecorous, Elena shook it.

An electric wave gushed through her veins upon contact with Azure's creamy skin and Elena watched those icy blue rings in her eyes stiffen, causing it to seem like sharp sheaths of ice instead of an ethereal glow. Something in Elena told her that this contact was tormenting Azures either physically or mentally and for another inexplicable reason, Elena enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing that whatever Azures had planned to 'influence her' was not working.

Elena expected her to pull her hand instantaneously or gasp in fright or terror but Azures never released the grip but continued to stare at her before finally speaking.

"You're Elena Gilbert."

-------------

Yes, I've been M.I.A for as long as I can remember.

Well, I blame RL mostly and my finals are this year so updates might be less frequent. To those who don't know, L.J's Shadow Souls was released this year and I finished it in like two..three days! xD Haha, but I wasn't thoroughly impressed with it though :S But that's just my opinion.

But to those who watch the TV show. Aaaahh, can Damon get any more yummier xD LoL.

Enjoy! Thanks so much for the reviews, favourites and alerts.

Seriously, you guys inspire me to keep writing.

Xo.


	10. The Hug

Bonnie looked up from the pale, ashen lady to Elena who seemed as though she had just seen a ghost. Well maybe considering 'Silver' was a quarter-inch close to being transparent due to her pale skin and hair, this might count. It took the usually gallant Elena some courage and force before she finally withdrew her hand. The lady however, was still staring at Elena – somewhere in between awe and terror, and with each second that past, those ice rings around her pupils seemed to enlarged and contract, forming a synchronized pattern. The sight made Bonnie sick.

"Um…" It was Elena who stuttered while Bonnie quivered behind her. "I don't know who you're talking about."

* * *

Dear Diary,

I had a dream last night – about Stefan and well, I cried when I woke up. Diary, I just can't bare another day knowing that Stefan isn't here. I'm starting to miss him and by miss I mean crazy miss. I need someone to talk to right now and the only person who qualifies is Stefan. We tell each other everything, or at least I can tell him anything and be assured that he'll keep it safely. Bonnie, Meredith and I swore not to have secrets between us but sometimes, I just need to keep some things to myself right? Like what happened when Bonnie and I helped out for the Fells Church Gala Dinner.

I have a strong hunch that Silver-haired lady is up to no good. I mean, Diary, if you were just there to see her eyes and that ring around her pitch, black pupils! Oh Goodness, the sight! And she knows who I am! With a touch of my hand, she instantly figured out who I was. Now isn't that something to worry about. After all, Elena Gilbert is supposed to be dead and now some, suspicious looking person might go around telling everyone the opposite. Of course, no one would believe her – duh, but what if she's just more that human?

What if she's a form of Power and she might hunt me down. Oh God, I don't even want to think about it. Sigh, see diary. That is why I need Stefan. He listens to me and right now, he'll probably stroke my hair and whisper sweet words into my ear to tell me that everything will be alright. Then, he'll cradle me in his arms and pull me into that sweet embrace that would get me to melt in his warmth and forget everything.

I think, besides sucking on blood, Stefan sucks the bad things out of me and we'll end up sharing those pessimistic thoughts together, drown in those hard times together – just the both of us, facing anything and everything together. Oh dear, my eyes are teary and I've gotten a blotch of smeared ink on you. Damn. It's night and I better go. Bonnie's snoring loudly beside me and even when I have her for company, it isn't the same as having Stefan.

_Oh I miss him._

Love, Elena

* * *

"Stefan."

Stefan's teal, green eyes flew open when he heard her coo beside him. He turned to find Katherine lying beside him with her fangs soaked in blood. Stefan studied his bleeding neck, and then shifted his glance at her but Katherine merely giggled innocently like a little girl on the prairie.

"I might have taken a little extra this time." She chirped while he sat up, grimacing.

"Katherine, I gave you a lot of blood last night and you're taking more this morning?" Stefan looked at her and Katherine merely ran her slender fingers through his tousled hair.

"My energy keeps dying out very fast. I won't be fully reenergized with blood alone." She began and Stefan peered at her from the corner of his eyes.

"I've been put under a witches curse."She started and he saw a thin film of translucent fluid misting her eyes. "They've got my Power, my strength and my soul and the only way to free my soul so I can get back what I've been robbed off is by drinking this elixir."

"I don't get it?" Stefan murmured and tenderly wiped a solitary, leaked tear from her rosy cheeks. Katherine sighed with poise and sunk into his arms.

"Stefan, what you see of me now – me here, is just my body and my mind. My soul – the true, inner me is kept locked and starving and tortured in a witch's cell." She commenced and felt his warm arms rubbing her shoulder. "That's why I get so hungry because my soul is controlling my body to feed it. My powers and strength are with my soul." She blinked and Stefan watched another pair of glistening tears dribble down her cheeks and straight to her chin. They fused to form a teardrop before falling down onto her velvet, maroon gown.

"What about the elixir?" Stefan posed. "Where can we get it?"

Katherine shook her head miserably and sat up.

"You can't find the elixir, Stefan." She whispered and pulled her long, strawberry-blonde hair to one side so that she bared the other side of her neck. "It's made."

"How?" He queried while he struggled to avert his glance from her chalky, translucent neck that bared her aorta. Stefan could feel hear the gushing sound of Katherine's sweet blood in her pulsating arteries. They were inviting him for a taste but she seemed to not realize the perspiration trickling down the side of his face. She seemed oblivious to his desperation.

"They call it the antique blood."Katherine began. "The combination of the blood of the silver stallion and the bloods of a Vampire of the Founding Family and a Witch successor of the Harps coven." Before Stefan could say a word, she went on.

"Salvatores are Founding Families and I've got you." She traced her lips over his and leaned down to kiss him. "But the other two…"

However Stefan was long gone. Reenergizing….reviving Katherine meant getting her back in full shape and getting her Power back but what would happen then? If Katherine comes back, clearly hungry for revenge, what would happen to his relationship with Elena? Being with Katherine meant a thousand words to him but at the same time….he still had Elena, his fiancée.

Elena's beautiful oblong face and diamond eyes flashed in his mind and Stefan slowly exhaled as he slouched back against the rough, prosaic walls of the tomb. He thought of Elena and her glowing smile, her childish laugh and heart-wrenching eyes. For a moment, he felt his lips edge into a tiny smile as he allowed his jade green eyes to witness all of their old memories but just as another memory was on the brink of playing, Damon appeared before it could end and Stefan felt the green monster awaking in him.

Damon. He pulled his lips back over his teeth savagely and felt the anger burn in his dark irises. Of course, now it struck him. Elena wasn't the guilty one, it was Damon. Damon had a habit of influencing and winning people over. With Damon, Elena was a traitor but if he were to get eliminated…

Then Elena would be his all over again.

"Stefan."

Stefan turned when he heard Katherine call him.

"What do I get out of this?" He was surprised at how rough and raucous his voice sounded.

Katherine looked a bit hurt and she didn't do anything to conceal it either.

"You get me." She caroled and interlaced their fingers together. "When a gallant knight saves his princess, he gets her all to himself." She uttered the last phrase very slowly as though each word was separated by full stops. Stefan felt his heartbeat double at each second Katherine's face grew closer and closer to his. For a moment, he felt asphyxiated but then he remembered that vampires don't breathe in the first place.

Katherine's face was only an inch away from his that he could smell the fragrance emanating from her silky hair and the make out each detail in her cobalt eyes. He realized that her eyes hadn't been thoroughly blue from the start. It was more like a diamond that stole the colours of the rainbow by refraction and only reflecting pure white light to get it to sparkle. Katherine blinked and Stefan saw a hint of orange as her eyes opened before settling into her normal shade of ocean blue.

"And you get to make up for your betrayal." She whispered, locking her eyes onto his. "And mend my broken, fragile heart." Her voice was nearly inaudible even as she drew closer and closer to his ear.

Stefan felt a tingly sensation as the thin film of air that separated her moist lips from his dry skin vibrated. It was like a wall, a barrier keeping them from contact but with Katherine's powerful, seductive vibe – he doubt the barrier could last.

"And you get to kill Damon." Katherine murmured with a sinister hint of an evil crackle behind her determined voice.

Stefan was taken aback but before he could argue, she had already spoken.

"I listen to you in your nightmares every night, I sense it in your eyes whenever we talk about him." She exhaled and the warm breathe tickled his neck. "You hate him Stefan, you loathe Damon and you want revenge."

"You'd never kill Damon, Katherine." Stefan spat. "You_ love _him."

"I_ loved_ him." She growled between her protruding fangs. "Not until he decided to erase me and open his heart to that _human_ who stole my looks." She snarled at the word 'human'.

Elena, Stefan gulped.

"Anyway…"Katherine went on and caressed his left cheek. "I won't be the one to kill.." She whispered and licked her pale lips. "You will."

And before he could argue, she sank her teeth into his neck.

* * *

Elena hugged her bare legs closer to her as she sat on her window sill and looked out at the slow-moving town outside. Once in a while, she would see wrecked, old cars drive by with their stereos on so loud as though trying to flaunt how urbane they were in this small, isolated town. But, strangely, she was thankful that cars still drove around Fells Church. With all that has happened, it took a mountain of courage for a driver to speed down the 'haunted' roads of this town. The cars seemed to be the only ones moving, the only ones with life in this town and the only thing that reminded her of the past.

Before everything happened, Fells Church was a small but jovial town. Just like any ordinary towns, there were parties and gatherings and events that required everyone to dress up in neon or bright coloured clothes instead of the black, medieval gowns they wear now since the only gathering thrown these days is funerals. How lachrymose, Elena thought and sucked her breath in.

She was the high school prom queen with the cutest jock as her boyfriend, Matt. She was ignorant and carefree and perhaps every girl's dream. Elena Gilbert used to be perfect and always night. She set trends and made boys yearn for her but now…

Elena shook her head and blinked another pair of tears out. Here she was looking like the most pathetic girl longing for her lost fiancé who ditched her on their wedding day. Great, what a transformation.

But strangely, Elena didn't feel regretful or angry. All she wanted was for Stefan to come back. She needed him right now. She wanted to feel his warmth and look into his innocent yet mysterious, jade green eyes. She wanted to cry and never stop so he could be there to comfort her. She wanted to know that he was okay and still thought of her, still remembered her.

Elena took another deep breath just as another pair of cascading tears escaped her eyes.

She never thought she'd see herself as the girl who cries over a boy. She never thought she'd see herself as the girl who gets dumped. Oh Stefan, Elena thought. You've changed me. You're like a positive drug that changes someone to be better but where are you now? Where have you gone?

Elena took another deep breath and slouched back to lean back against the walls. She felt tired and exhausted having not slept for three nights in a row. She couldn't stand it anymore. Nights without Stefan were hell and it was worse when she thought about what she was doing to fix this : Nothing.

She wasn't doing anything to look for him or get him back. She wasn't doing anything to even figure out where he was or how he is. Oh dear God, Elena sobbed and put one hand up to her forehead as another pair of translucent tears trickled down her cheeks. Stefan, where are you? Come back…come back, please.

"Thank God you're here." She heard a voice and the door to the bedroom slammed shut. "I didn't think I could stand another trip to Bonnie's or Meredith's to look for you. Where have you been Elena?"

She turned her head towards the voice and found herself staring at…not exactly the Salvatore brother she had wished for. He was dressed in his usual pair of black Armani jeans and leather jacket that complimented his asphalt hair and eyes. Damon had an old book in his arms and his expression changed the minute he saw her face.

"Oh no."

Elena almost smiled at his first reaction. Clearly she had expected a normal person to ask her if she was alright but then again, Damon wasn't normal so she guessed 'Oh no' was good enough.

"Sorry, just ignore it." She told him and wiped her tears away. At the same time, Damon eyed her curiously as he approached her.

"Do humans always apologise when they cry?"He crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against Stefan's mahogany study. Elena tossed him a look but he seemed truly clueless.

"Oh come on, I was a human three hundred years ago – you don't expect me to remember do you?" He rolled his eyes only to find a new layer of mist formed over her glossy, blue eyes. "Oh no."

Elena resisted herself from laughing when he said it again and it was easy since before she could take a second to laugh or smile, she felt another batch of tears pouring out onto her soaked cheeks.

"I don't think it was something I said…..right?" Damon posed and Elena miserably shook her head. Great, here she was crying to her boyfriend's brother and probably the world's most useless person when it came to comfort. Heck even Tyler Smallwood would have done a better job.

"Um…" Damon pressed his lips together, never tearing his gaze off of her. "You don't expect a…uh, hug do you?"

Elena choked on her stifling tears to manage a short, laugh.

"From you…no."She told him truthfully and he seemed relieved. "But it would be nice to have one."

She looked at Damon, expecting him to get up and give her at least a pat on the back, but of course, he didn't. Instead, Damon merely sat there staring at her like she was some kind of fascinating outcome of an experiment. Like an alien to him.

"So why are you crying anyway?"

Nice, Elena thought sarcastically. Straight to the point. How could one possibly not find comfort with Damon?

She sighed and tucked her russet, brown hair behind her ears. "I was just…"She sighed and pressed her lips together. "I was just thinking about your brother."

"Stefan." Damon snorted, saying his name for her.

"I mean, don't you miss him Damon?"She wondered but he merely shrugged as though this whole thing wasn't a big deal.

"I've been without my brother for as long as…a hundred years?"He raised an eyebrow as though wanting her confirmation. "Give or take. But we weren't exactly…."He twitched his Greek nose and cleared his throat. "Smitten."

"But did you miss him?"Elena watched his body muscles relax as he hopped on to sit on Stefan's study instead of merely leaning against it. "I mean, like…for a moment or…"

She didn't need to try any longer to elicit the answer from him since surprisingly; Damon seemed open about the truth.

"'Course I did." He told her and drummed his fingers against his thighs. "Especially the first time we got separated, you know…after the whole Katherine incident."Damon rolled his eyes when he uttered her name as though the incident was pathetic and probably wasn't worth fighting over. "When you've been brothers for gee hmm, sixteen years?"

Elena nodded attentively.

"And suddenly you're just separated for a century."He clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Nu-uh. Not good." He sighed – it wasn't a remorseful or regretful sigh but more like 'Oh well, those days' kind of sigh. "But of course, we made the whole separation thing easy by thinking of how much we wanted to _kill _each other." He exaggerated on the word 'kill' and strangely, Elena found herself bemused.

"But the both of you are still alive." She concluded and watched Damon nod.

"Yup."He licked his lips. "Miraculously, Surprisingly…and in a way, quite thankfully."

Elena giggled and she watched the corner of Damon's thin, sinister lips curl into a smile.

"Anyway."She went on when there was nothing but monotonous silence between them. She found the voiceless vibe awkward but Damon didn't seem the least bothered. Instead, he looked up from his book when she spoke.

"You uh, were looking for me?"

"Oh yeah." He snapped his book close and put it aside. "Wait, why weren't you at neither Bonnie's nor Meredith's again?"

She sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Guess, this place felt more like home." She murmured then stopped. "Speaking of which, where were you this whole time? You weren't…here."

"Library, doing research most nights. Out and about hunting…yeah, that's about it."

Elena nodded. "Anyway, you were looking for me…?"

"Yeah, I found out about that night...about the silver-ish liquid." He commenced and stood up. "Your book was pretty decent." He held up the old book he had carried when he first walked in. "But I've got some extra facts I think you might want to look at. They're in the living hall."Damon gestured at her to follow him and voluntarily, Elena got up to approach the door.

He stood by the doorframe, waiting for her to exit first since in his words 'Ladies first' but just as he closed the door behind them, Elena heard him call her name.

She twirled to see him approaching her and then unexpectedly, Damon dropped one of his lean, muscular arms onto her shoulder. She stood there baffled for a moment.

"Does this count as a hug?" He looked at her from behind those dark eyes.

Elena felt her lips curve up into a smile before she finally giggled and rested her head against his shoulders.

"For a guy who doesn't do hugs…"She began and looked up at him as they walked. "This means a lot." She beamed and kept her eyes locked on his for a moment.

Damon caught her staring and raised an eyebrow. "Now you don't expect me to say something like 'awww' right?"

Elena rolled her eyes and shook her head.

* * *

Hey, hey, hey!

Was the Vampire Diaries episode last week** awesome** or what?! I love, love, love the ending where Damon and Elena sit in the cellar together with Stefan…well, you know ;) Haha!

Okay, here's the next update.

Thank you so much for the **reviews, favourites, story alerts**. They mean so much to me! I hope you'll like this one!

Enjoy!


	11. The Rogues

**The Rogues.**

"This Elena." Damon spoke as he held up an old picture of what looked like an Italian-like encrusted silver dagger stained with rust, either that or it simply was the worn out piece of parchment the photo was printed on. Elena decided on the latter after Damon pointed to the identical image on the screen of his computer. This time, she managed to make out every single detail the old parchment left out and noticed that the design engraved on the dagger's body represented some sort of symbol. One she couldn't fathom. A code that clearly did not want to be cracked unless by its respective master. "Is a silver dagger from the fifteenth century made of the purest form of silver you could ever find. The art and beauty work of the body are believed to be the product of talent and sheer perseverance of the _tskalas_ of that era."

However, before Elena could even ask what tskalas were, he continued contemporaneously answering her question as though he had read her mind.

"Slave elves who were mostly blacksmiths during the fifteenth century. It is believed that they emerged during the fall of the Aztec empire and mostly consisted of men who were brave enough to migrate to Italy to try and seek a new life."

Elena shifted her legs to find a comfortable position as the story got more interesting. She watched Damon rip something out from the book and handed it to her. It was another silly old parchment with a faded picture of a creature. She wasn't sure if it was human or not with its elephant like ears and nose that seemed to occupy nearly two thirds of its face. The tskala, or whatever Damon had said, had a small frame, perhaps that of a ten year old child's with fingers so lean and defined, it was probably the only beautiful thing they possessed. The picture, however, stopped just at its knees, preventing Elena to steal a glimpse at its feet. She sensed Damon's mysterious, profound eyes on her as she traced the tskala's thin yet muscular arms with her slender fingers. The coarse texture of the parchment made her almost feel as though she was touching the creature's rough arms.

"But fate wasn't so much on their side." Damon continued and crossed his arms across his chest in a manner that made him seem serious and well, different. Rid of humour and jokes and imprisoned in seriousness for the first time, to Elena that is. "The minute the tskala's arrived in Italy, they were tricked and deceived by what are known as Rogues. Powerful Baron descendants from the dark ages except they lived in exile due to their suspicious behaviour and odd abilities to do things out of the extraordinaire." He unfolded his muscular arms and Elena studied the way he pressed them against the mahogany study before slowly tilting his body forwards as he peered down at one of the books Elena managed to sneak out from the restriction section.

"Astronomy, physics and chemistry had been way back discovered by these rogues by what most of us believe to be revelations from their master. However, being in their barbaric and uncivilized state, not a single patron or king, for that matter, believed them and blamed these rogues for being the doings of evil and menace that was determined to bring the feudal constitution down."

"So they were banished?" Elena guessed and watched Damon nod subtly with a hand rubbing his clean shave, square jaw.

"They lived in pure agony with rewards circling the country for whoever who killed a rogue or brought him to the king to be killed. So they knew their lives weren't safe anymore in Italy. Not only in Rome but also in other cities such as Florence, where I come from."

Elena couldn't help but smile to herself at the end bit of his last sentence. Even when she had known the Salvatore brothers for nearly two years now, it was still hard to believe they were once gentlemen from Italy instead of average American people who had been living the past eighteen years just like herself. Damon noticed the subtle smile on her face and when their eyes met, he arched an eyebrow but she quickly shook her head and insisted he go on.

"So these Rogues started to become what is commonly known as Nomads, traveling the entire Europe to seek refuge. However, unlike the nomads you commonly watch on TV that venture through deserts with camels…" He paused when he heard her stifling a laugh as though his stereotypical statement about nomads was rather amusing to her. "Rogues travel with Stallions, a creature…"

"I know what a Stallion is Damon." Elena interrupted but he ignored her, as usual and went on by insisting that the stallions they travelled with weren't ordinary male unicorns.

"They are called Silver Stallions, Elena." He spoke almost too clearly that the name got immediately engraved onto her mind. "They are rare creatures that were once said to be the most dangerous of all horses. It has the blood of viscous silver liquid, one that can-"

"Poison a vampire." Elena breathed out when she remembered the silver blade stabbed into Damon's back. She looked up at him, at his enchanted eyes that hid so many secrets, and watched him nod as though impressed by her intelligence.

"Not only poison Elena, but cause other vicious things worse than death. Things that can even cause a vampire to lose that last bit of humanity in him, or worse – his sanity, his soul, and keep it imprisoned in what is believed to be the eternal abyss."

Elena raised her eyebrows.

"No one has really ever seen it." He straightened his back and scratched the bridge of his perfectly straight nose before tightening his lips together as though the topic made him rather uncomfortable. "As a matter of fact, no one wants to see it, or witness it too. But words go around saying that it is the place where souls from the past are kept when they are forced out of the body. This was the tactic used by the Rogues during the Inquisition era, Elena." He chuckled slowly to himself when he noticed how dilated her pupils were and how she gaped as a result of being super engrossed by the story. "The Inquisition era was the rise of the Rogues to seek revenge. They were blood thirsty, lusted for vendetta…"

"Were Vampires killed too?" Elena posed curiously and clasped both her hands tightly before allowing her chin to rest on them. "Did you and Stefan escape?"

Something about what she said or how she said it made Damon shift in a very inconspicuous way that it would take a pair of vampire's eyes to notice it. Thankfully for her, she had a pair of Vampire's eyes and after feeding last week, her senses had been amplified and she knew, Damon knew that too. However when she furrowed her eyebrows, he ignored her – again.

"Vampires were once in power during that period Elena but not during the rise of the Rogues. These rogues were powerful, god-like, like no creature anyone as ever witnessed and when they invented the Silver Stallion dagger, no one was safe – not even vampires. Now as I was saying earlier, these tskala's got tricked into working for the rogues who claimed to be superpowers in those days. The tskala's had their loyalty bound to the Rogue army by magic. A magic so powerful, so intense that if ever a tsakala was to turn his back, the magic – an invisible chord like rope connected to the soul of a tskala would be broken, pulling the soul out and imprisoning in in the eternal abyss."

Elena shivered, feeling the goosebumps surfacing on her porcelain skin as Damon's already, deep, sensual voice got deeper and deeper. She wasn't sure if the goosebumps had been a result of the menacing story or the intense energy Damon seemed to be channelling her.

"So the Vampires did what we had to do. We formed an allegiance."

"With the Rogues?" Elena gaped and watched Damon nod. "But they were immoral, blood thirsty beasts, out to kill!" Then she stopped when she sensed the shift in energy around Damon. From being so intense, so passionate, the atmosphere he emanated seemed to vanish and so did his expression on his God-like countenance.

"We are immoral, we are blood thirsty – blood-sucking to be more exact, and while I'm not too sure about the beast part, all our lives we had been thought to kill to survive so…"

"You joined them." Elena uttered breathlessly, unable to believe her ears and pushed her hair back with both her hands as she tried to digest everything Damon had told her for the past hour. She allowed her heartbeat to steady but all it did was continued to thrum in her veins, in her mind. Elena could feel the adrenaline pulsating through her veins as she tried to imagine Stefan with his courteous demeanour and the face of a nobleman sink his fangs into the neck of an innocent human being.

She gripped the sides of her head tightly, fighting the migraine that was beginning to attack her mind before squeezing both her eyes shut when the pain became insurmountable. The minute she opened them, she found herself staring directly into Damon Salvatore's pitch black ones. They were empty, nothing but a single void yet something about his expression, about his gaze but them…believable and comforting. It made them understanding and kind. It made them….well, appeasing.

"Stefan didn't join them." He muttered as though reading her thoughts. "He was too much of a do-gooder." He reached up for her hands, the ones that had been clasping her head all this while, and placed them gently back on her lap, not pulling his eyes away from them for approximately one minute before finally getting up and exhaling. He had his back facing her but Elena could see his face through the vague reflection of the old Oakwood armoire.

"I did." He finished and Elena pressed her lips together only to hear his subtle chuckle a few minutes later. "Probably one of the worst periods of my life." He mumbled, still not turning around to face her.

"What happened to Stefan?" Elena muttered, reluctant to ask him at first since clearly, the fact that Stefan hadn't gotten involved left some sort of emotion in Damon but with his back turned to face her and the vagueness of his reflection in the armoire's grimy glass door, she couldn't fathom it just yet.

"Katherine saved him." Damon spoke without a hint of any sort of emotion, in the most monotonous tone and almost too fast it was as though he had been musing over the answer for a really, really long time now. "My little brother had the free chance of an escape without telling me." He slowly began turning around now and Elena couldn't help but wonder why her breathing rate increased as he approached to sit beside her.

"Apparently Katherine didn't want me, or so he says." Damon licked his thin, dry lips and Elena watched the blood rush below those epithelial cells. "But we all know he enjoyed watching me suffer."

"Damon, you know that's not true." Elena began but he raised a hand to silence her.

"Do I?" He scrutinised her with his jet, black beady eyes that seemed to have found a way to penetrate straight through her and find her weak spot. A gaze so dreamy yet so intense that if looks could kill, she could have simply died on the spot. His stare was filled with vehemence, remorse and anger, all jumbled up into a sentiment that fogged his brain and made him, in the end, stoic.

He watched her cast a glance of pity, a look that showered him with infinite sympathy – something he did not wish for and did not want even when it was sincerely, from the bottom of her heart.

"Don't feel sorry for me Elena. It was a wise decision anyway." Damon uttered indifferently and Elena studied his artistic fingers as it pulled the zipper to his black, leather jacket down. "Stefan wouldn't have survived if he stayed anyway so I guess it was a good thing he fled, as usual to save his own life. At least, he's got some sense in himself when it comes to surviving." Then, with his fangs bared directly at Elena, he went on. "Kill or be killed, die or be dead."

Elena squirmed as she watched Damon pull his black t-shirt over his head, unsure of what to react because the truth was, she was too shocked to think, to speak or to even blink. Just like Stefan, Damon was beautiful but unlike Stefan, Damon had a dark, brooding side that just made him bold and dangerous yet it attracted Elena. She was so determined to unravel his secrets, his mysteries. He was like a puzzle game so hard to solve yet she was so determined to put the pieces back. She studied the way his shirt messed up his perfectly coiffed hair and made it seem like a close replica of bed hair. Perhaps semi bed hair?

And then it struck her that she was staring. Staring directly and not in a subtle way. A stare that even Damon noticed and made him chuckle.

"It's really hard being gorgeous sometimes." He jested, giving her wink that immediately snapped her back to reality. Shaking her head, Elena quickly averted her glance only to have Damon speak again. "Now when I want you to look, you turn away."

She thought it was a joke, perhaps but when Damon called for her again, Elena forced herself to shift her gaze at him only to stare again. This time, it wasn't a good, drooling stare. It was shock and bitterness and bafflement. There, plastered on what Elena had thought to be a flawless back free of blemish was a mark. A mark that looked so familiar, like one she remembered capturing vaguely in a dream, a mark that burned and scared Damon's perfectly toned back.

"Wh…"

"The mark of a silver dagger never goes away, Elena." He began and gestured at the recent stab wound just below his neck, around his scapula. Elena bit her lip, he was right. The mark was still there. It was healing, but it was still there.

"But why do you have it? Didn't you k…" She was about to say kill but something made her swallow the words back and she pulled herself back together and said. "Weren't you a team with them?"

"A team." Damon snorts with bitter laughter and throws his shirt back on. "You've got that right Elena." He sighs and slips into his leather jacket once more, contemporaneously ruffling through his dark, russet hair in vanity. "Sure they won't _kill _us but they have this system. This system where they know how much we've killed and if the amount of those murdered doesn't stack up to their standards, well then, you might as well be prepared for the repercussions." And when Elena shows a slow response at comprehending him, he gestures at his scar and she felt her body shudder.

"Anyway, thanks to Stefan. I've got a high affinity for pain now." He got up and approached the computer which has been standing idly for quite some time now. Biting her lip, Elena turned around and rested an arm on the armrest as he gathered the books together and slipped them into the drawer.

"So, that…thing that attacked you." Elena began, capturing Damon's attention immediately. "That thing was…a rogue?"

"Could be." He pushed the drawers close and leaned against the old, wooden armoire that seemed unable to hold his weight any longer. "Or it could be Powers. I mean, they surpass any sort of mystical creature."

"So they stole the dagger from a rogue?" Elena murmured, watching Damon put everything in order, careful not to let any sort of information be left in the open.

"Possibly." He rubbed the bottom of his chin as he looked at a piece of parchment he had picked up from the floor before crumpling it into a ball and tossing in into the bin. It landed perfectly with a single throw.

"But what about the design on the body, Damon?" Elena suddenly posed when she remembered the beatific yet daunting carvings on the dagger. "Is it some sort of code?"

The corner of Damon's thin lips edged up into an awry smile as he slowly nodded, impressed by yet again, her intelligence. "Correct Elena. And the code of every dagger is different. They are special for their specific owners." When Elena asked why, he went on. "Like a sword, only certain people can unlock the real magic in the dagger. Sure everyone can go around maiming and massacring people with it, but only its true owner can unlock the hidden powers in the dagger." He approached her with the speed of light, just in time to place a gentle finger on her fine lips when she was on the verge of asking about the powers. Elena stood there, puzzled for a moment as she watched Damon lower his eyes, watched as his dark irises sank into hers, watched him lean towards her until they were simply a finger apart before he finally stopped and stared at her in the eye.

"Powers of the sort, I have yet to find out." He gave her a short, cunning grin before making his way towards the door, not expecting her to tail behind him since he wanted to feed and clearly his feeding sessions weren't at all eye satisfying to her. Just when he was on the brink of telling her about his plans for the night, she mentioned his name.

"Was it painful? The silver stallion dagger…." She bit her lip, feeling a little queasy as she prayed for an honest answer - one that wouldn't be mixed with humour and satire and she kept hoping as he stood there voiceless, not answering her at first until about a minute later.

"Yes, Elena. Yes it was." And that was it. That was all it took for Elena to see that one glimmer, that one faded glimmer in his eye that lasted for about one tenth of a second to reveal his true feelings. One glimmer to project all the suffering, all the pain he underwent in the dungeon during the fifteenth century. One glimmer to tell Elena one thing- it still scared him. It still haunted him. And how he was still hurt by his brother and lover's betrayal.

* * *

Hiiii everyone. Yes, I've been gone for as long as I can remember. RL was tough for a while but I'm back and hopefully I'll be able to complete this story! Exams are over, 2010 is over, Damon's getting sexier ;) Mind you, so is Tyler in the TV show!

Thanks soo much for all the **reviews, favourites and story alerts**, really. They've been great to me and one of the reasons why I'm so inspired to continue writing this story. I hope, you guys enjoy this update! xxx


End file.
